Shadows in the Sand
by CapturedByNoodles
Summary: Naruto is a passionate archeologist, committed to unearthing Egypt's secrets. Sasuke is an vindictive tomb raider, committed to standing in his way.
1. Chapter 1: Keeping Score

**A/N:**

I am so freaking excited to post this new story! It's been on my mind for a long time, and with the encouragement of Kizukatana (who is my heavy BETA for this story) I finally decided to write it it. I hope you enjoy where it eventually leads. I've always been heavily into stories centered around curses or uncovering artifacts (Indiana jones, The Mummy, etc.) which is why this has been weighing down on me. I have a lot of fun things planned, and I feel like I'm going to really enjoy writing this, so thanks for joining me on the ride! I'd like to also give a warm shout out to Ree for the amazing art she did for this story! **If you would like to view the cover she made, this story is available on ArchiveOfOurOwn, with the art front and center! There I will be posting updates much more consistently.**

If you like her art as much as I do, give her some feedback at her twitter sketchfoo !

* * *

 **Chapter One:** Keeping Score

* * *

The passage that lead to Awrutshimaru's tomb was exactly how he imagined it: dark, ominous. _P_ _ainfully_ dry.

Not that the young archaeologist hadn't seen this coming; and he wasn't talking about the suffocating desert air. As he reached into the backpack he'd planted near his feet, he pulled out his makeshift torch, allowing himself a private smile. The hostel he'd been staying in wasn't happy when they found out their table was missing a leg, but it was for a good cause, and he swore he'd make it up to them as he scrutinized the passage. Although his hunch might've been wrong, there was no such thing as being _too_ careful.

Steady, nimble fingers pulled out the zippo lighter from a sand dusted pocket, and he flicked it on, setting the torch ablaze.

The all consuming darkness gave way to a distinct slithering sound from just a few feet away.

 _Of course there would be snakes._

With its body craned towards him and its scales rubbing together in a threatening display, the snake gave a drawn out hiss at being discovered. Then, just as quickly as it emerged, it slithered back into its hole. The man clad in a white field shirt and khaki's whistled with relief, signaling that the coast seemed more or less clear. Of people anyway.

"Isn't this great?" His voiced peaked, on the verge of screaming. His blood ran hot through his veins and his smile, wasted on an audience of none, could easily outshine the blazing desert sun. "I swear, that wasn't just any snake. That was an Egyptian saw scaled viper! In here of all places! Man, I must be dreaming..."

Stumbling through the entrance, which had previously been covered in sand, short black hair and dark eyes gazed at the surroundings with a frustrating amount of apathy.

"It was just a snake," The man remarked blandly, as if he was talking about the color of the sky. He dusted off some sand from his robes. "You are in Egypt. There are snakes everywhere, dickless."

"Ugh, y'know Sai, it wouldn't kill you to be excited about, I dunno, maybe the fact that we might find the burial chamber of an Egyptian pharaoh? Whose tomb's been hidden away for thousands and thousands of years? We're about to make history here you asshole, and I told you not to call me that."

Golden tufts of hair swayed as the man turned around, blue eyes rounding sharply on its target. "It's Naruto Uzumaki, remember?"

Sai flashed him a smile, reeking of ingenuity and something else.

Naruto didn't have time to mull over the bad feeling though, not when the distance between them became non existent. Sai closed in, bringing their bodies into full contact. His hand brushed not-so-subtly against Naruto's hip.

Naruto's fist tightened _contemplatively_ around his torch.

"I'm sorry, _Naruto._ You aren't dickless," Sai said, serenely ignoring his discomfort. An index finger slyly smoothed over a crease in his pants. "After all, I've already seen this _package_ you smuggled into Cairo. Your penis is a far cry from absent."

"And your face will be a far cry from recognizable if you don't move your hand," Naruto growled through gritted teeth. He slapped Sai's hand away and stepped back to put some much needed space between him and the weirdo.

A pervert. It was just his luck that he'd end up with a pervert as a guide.

When Naruto heard from an informant that someone knew the whereabouts of Awrutshimaru's tomb, he'd almost jumped for joy. He'd been searching for a lead for the last two weeks. However, his first impression of Sai was nothing short of shady.

Sai turned out to be a money laundering brothel owner in Cairo, who'd promised to show him the way if he'd promise to show him his… _jewels_.

Naruto almost gagged at the memory.

Money for information was one thing, but having to pull down his pants for it? He sighed, knowing now wasn't the time for regrets. He would feel ashamed of what he had to do to get here _after_ he found Awrutshimaru's coffin, and only _after_ the artifacts were safely placed in a museum where they belonged. Glancing at the entrance again, he hardened his resolve. His gut told him not to trust Sai; and as far as accuracy goes, it's never been wrong. But if Sai actually was telling him the truth, then this could be one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time.

"I hope you know how to fight," Naruto said as he reached down, undoing the holster strapped to his thigh. He reloaded his revolver. "If we run into any trouble don't just stand around."

Sai's eyes roamed down the curve of Naruto's back as he crouched to retrieve his messenger bag. Tan muscles strained and contracted against the material of the diggers shirt.

"Trouble?" Sai murmured distractedly. He watched Naruto turn the gun in his hand before placing it back, skeptical. "I'm sure anything we might find will be... _wrapped up_ in its own problems."

Naruto held back a snort.

No, that wasn't it. He wasn't superstitious enough to concern himself with a mummy coming back to life. And he sure wasn't convinced Sai could run off with any of his artifacts. He would turn him into an embalmed corpse. Yet as he started down the passageway, a pair of piercing onyx orbs, smugly gazing down at him, flashed in his mind. Pale lips, twisting into a triumphant smirk, manifested itself in the tunnel shadows, and Naruto had to stop himself from trembling with anger.

"You're right," Naruto said, his gaze trained straight ahead. "But it's not the dead that worries me."

* * *

The tunnel, thirty-six miles south of the famous Giza Plateau, ran about eight miles long until they reached a dead end. The only thing left facing him was a wall of limestone bedrock and Sai's irritating plastic smile as he stood by it, gesturing at _nothing._

"This is it," he stated lamely.

Naruto's lips twitched into a forced smile as he stepped closer to inspect it, wondering if he'd been tricked. It seemed more likely that he was inside a smuggling tunnel then a burial site. There was nothing indicative of it containing anything but disappointment, but he tried to hold out hope. He didn't show Sai his goods for nothing.

"Wait… Over here is…" Just below him, carved paper thin into the limestone, was a block. Naruto handed Sai his torch and he got on his hand and knees—he ignored Sai's low hum of approval—pulling on the corners of the space firmly. It quickly gave and revealed a crawl space, just big enough for him to squeeze through. His heart raced.

"Sai, I could kiss you." Naruto said in a daze, his mouth breaking out into a huge grin. Sai, for once, returned the smile genuinely.

"Is that an offer?"

Naruto's face fell.

"Don't ruin the moment."

He quickly looked behind them and sighed in relief. They were the only ones here. Good. The hidden crawlspace didn't seem to be disturbed either. He reached into his bag, pulling out his Swiss army knife.

"Stay here. If you hear anything or see someone coming, I don't care if you leave. Just let me know." He stuck the knife in his mouth, carefully nestling it between his teeth.

More than running the risk of heat stroke, there was an even higher risk of running into grave robbers; complete assholes, who sold off important artifacts to some sleaze with a fat stomach and even fatter pockets. If this was the real deal, he wasn't going to risk anyone else getting near this tomb until he called his diggers and blocked the area off.

There seemed to be some light at the end of the crawlspace, so he would leave torch with Sai.

"Hide the entrance, got it?"

"Of course." Sai said, his smile never reaching his eyes. Something strange and warped infected his usual monotonous tone, but Naruto tried not to read into it. "I hope to see you soon."

"Sure…" Naruto replied, awkwardly.

He licked his lips as he inched through the narrow space, trying to ignore the strange twist in his stomach, chalking it up to nerves.

He was anxious to see what was on the other side. Naruto was hopeful that his search had lead him to what archaeologists have only dreamed of finding for centuries. His father had been searching for Awrutshimaru's tomb his whole life and Naruto would admit, that obsession influenced his decision to become an archaeologist.

Minato Namikaze was a famous digger and his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, a genius anthropologist. The need to uncover history flowed through his veins and Naruto learned to yield. He loved this feeling. Naruto loved the dirt between his finger nails and the way the earth would pliantly bow, revealing countless stories. Because in simply dusting away sand, he was making sure that the past could never stay buried and everyone was free, even in death.

Naruto's breath hitched as he noticed he was reaching the end of the tunnel. As his head poked out of the crawlspace he sucked in another greedy gulp of dry air. The scent that swathed the room was neither subtle nor soothing. It was some variation of Kapet—one of the most popular types of temple incense in Ancient Egypt, used as a remedy for ailments. It was even mythed to cure snake bites.

The floor gave things away. It was littered with hieroglyphs, pictures of snakes dancing in almost every crevice, heads craned towards the receptacle placed perfectly in the center of the chamber and Naruto _knew._ This was it. He found it. Sai wasn't a waste of his time after all, he _actually_ led him to Awrutshimaru.

"Sai, I can't believe it. This is it!" Naruto shouted, knowing Sai could hear him from the other side.

As he stood up, he stuck the knife between the waistband of his pants, walking to the center of the room.

The sarcophagus was typical. Full of fanciful patterns and unique messaging. However, the only reason he could see _anything_ in this room without the use of a torch was because there were candles, still burning on the walls. They were a peculiar shade of red; blood red, he noted quietly, and the flames danced higher than what he's ever seen, four or five inches into the air. Something was off here.

How could they burn after thousands of years?

Naruto laughed nervously and took a deep breath, knowing that he was probably working himself up. Come on. What was he thinking just now? He was over excited, and that's why he was over analyzing the whole thing. The candles were probably not made entirely out of wax. Maybe they contained some sort of sintered bronze or foam, which caused them to burn for so long. Or maybe they reacted to the change of air pressure when the block covering the entryway was removed.

Sure, that would explain it.

There had to be a reason for it, but what Naruto _couldn't_ justify was the smell. He almost doubled over from it, struggling to stand. The incense suddenly grew pungent, sickly sweet, wafting through his nose and making him feel dizzy. _Weak._ Like all of the strength from his body was being squeezed out of him.

Naruto had to admit, in all his years of digging and discovering burial sites this whole place kind of unnerved him. Nothing seemed to be disturbed, and it was clear that only he and Sai knew about the location. If grave robbers had been here, he would have picked up on it immediately. Still, something didn't sit well with him. This chamber felt weird. It was too… _plain._

Important Egyptian figures were buried with riches, all the comforts of home, their pets for crying out loud. Unless they stuffed Awrutshimaru's servants and all his gold into this sarcophagus, it was likely that the stories were true and he hadn't been well liked.

Years of research and studying the glyphs surrounding Awrutshimaru told the tale of someone unimaginably cruel. A king who sacrificed his own people for sick, deranged rituals, and who was steeped in dark magic before his soul was carried off into the afterlife.

Naruto grimaced, patting the sarcophagus with a sigh. He apparently died in the middle of a sacrificial ritual, when a snake accidentally bit him and the poison stopped his heart. Talk about karma.

"Well," Naruto mumbled under his breath. "You're paying for it now, aren't you?" He said to no one.

The cover to the sarcophagus was gilded in gold, showing the typical positioning of a man lying in repose as though waiting to simply rise up and carry on his activities in the afterlife. Clutched in one hand was the flail, with carved scenes and hieroglyphics from spells taken from the Book of The Dead, but in the other was something that had Naruto's heart racing. It was what he came here for.

Though to get at the real thing, he'd have to move the heavy lid to get at the mummy entombed within. Luckily, the muscles in Naruto's back weren't just for show and recreation. He gripped the edge of the sarcophagus lid and heaved, his body straining against the weight as it slowly began to shift. **  
**  
"Do you need any help with that?" Came a voice from behind him. Naruto spun around to find Sai watching him from the other end of the room, a pleasant expression on his face. In his hand was a gun, cocked and pointed at him. Sai surveyed the room before chuckling softly. "How cozy."

"... What the hell are you doing?" Naruto growled. Sai shrugged, as if their entire situation was perfectly natural.

"You had asked me to show you where Awrutshimaru was buried, so I lead you here," He responded simply. Then he paused. "But you did not ask if you had been the first."

"What the fuck is that supposed to…?" Naruto started. The rest of the words died in his throat.

Casually emerging from the tunnel behind Sai **,** Naruto clenched his fists as nimble, familiar fingers dusted off sand from a dark vest. This person stood up slowly, deliberately. A similar field shirt lay covered in holsters and Sai said nothing, instead opting to hand the pistol in his hand to the other man before taking a step back.

If looks could _kill,_ one of them would be lying inside that sarcophagus. Naruto wanted to smack the look of supremacy that could rival a pharaoh's off the man's face. The tension in the air was so palpable he could cut it with his swiss army knife and serve it at a dinner party.

"Sasuke." Naruto snarled, the name venomous and acidic on his tongue. Sasuke's eyes glowed amongst the burning candles with sadistic amusement.

"Naruto." He replied smoothly, securing the gun in one of his holsters. "You're late. Dead last as usual."

"I got to Sai first," Naruto insisted. "There's no _way_ you were here before me."

"Actually," Sai cut in. The liar didn't even have the social etiquette to look guilty either. "He visited me at my brothel just an hour before you. And he paid me in _cash._ "

Naruto's face flamed.

"You're working with him." It wasn't a question, but a pointed statement. The betrayal didn't sting, because he had a feeling this would happen. Sai simply smiled in that infuriating, apathetic way.

"You were careless this time." Sasuke sneered, taking a few steps forward. Naruto visibly tensed, taking a defensive stance. "I've been following you since our last meeting in Luxor—Not exactly a stellar example of covering your tracks, Naruto."

"Is that right?" Naruto couldn't help but snort, crossing his arms. "Well I'm impressed, bastard... The last I saw of you, you were nice and cozy in that tunnel that _mysteriously_ collapsed in the Valley of the Kings. Was it fun in there, or did the whole being-trapped thing kill the mood for ya? You must have really missed me if you've been following me around since then."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously and Naruto grinned, having clearly struck a nerve. As quickly as the anger flashed across Sasuke's face it disappeared, replaced with cool indifference. He'd almost gotten away with the ring of a long dead, temple figurehead back in Luxor that time. The money from that artifact would have set him up nicely for a while, and he was still annoyed that Naruto had gotten the drop on him. But not this time.

"Just because you were lucky once doesn't mean you're any less a moron. You haven't realized I've been following you for weeks since then, and I didn't bother to conceal myself." Dark eyes fixed on the object shining enticingly on the pharaoh's sarcophagus and the Naruto followed his gaze, his posture only becoming more rigid. "...You lead me right to it this time."

Naruto instinctively tried to cover the sarcophagus from Sasuke's peripheral with his hands, knowing it was pointless to hide it, but becoming unnerved nonetheless. Because this was different from everything else up til now.

Yeah it was important, and like all the other items he's recovered this held just as much historical significance. But this wasn't just about his job. This time, this was personal. His father had looked for this tomb his whole life, and Naruto was raised on its stories. It's been his dream to find it ever since he was a kid, and it's why he even became interested in archeology in the first place. He couldn't let Sasuke win.

"You're not leaving with anything from this room, Sasuke…" Naruto growled dangerously, his hands twitching to grab his own gun or the knife between his waistband. "This isn't a petty marketplace theft. You're stealing from _history._ This chamber, and everything in it, doesn't belong on some obese, rich guy's shelf collecting dust, it belongs in a museum."

"For fifty thousand pounds, I think I'll leave it up to my client to decide where it belongs." Sasuke said, his voice inflectionless. Naruto felt every nerve in his body crackle with the urge to pummel him into the ground as he shifted subtly into a fighting stance

They stared at each other in heavy silence, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

Naruto licked his lips, watching as Sasuke's hand casually brushed against the gun in his holster, waiting for the right moment. It was when Sai's low, amused whistle pierced the air that Sasuke finally pulled the revolver out and cocked it, causing Naruto to spring forward. Before it could go off, Naruto swept a leg into the back of Sasuke's knees, making him buckle and fall flat on his back.

The gun fell out of his hand. Sasuke's brows scrunched together, momentarily stunned, but he recovered just in time to roll away as Naruto pounced on the ground, hoping to pin him down. Sasuke rolled to a stand, sprinting towards the sarcophagus. His hands stretched towards the shining serpent.

Naruto wouldn't have that. He grabbed Sasuke by his waist and threw him onto the floor, his breath hot and heavy against the others face as they rolled around, looking for any opening to incapacitate the other and claim the prize.

Sand and dirt embedded itself in their skin. Sai's whistling only grew louder at the spectacle, clapping a few times in encouragement as the blood rushed to their heads, hearts pounding inside two sets of ears.

Sasuke realized the idiot had gotten stronger since their last encounter, because he was crushed under Naruto's weight. Tan fingers dug into his shoulders and Sasuke hissed, his teeth gnashing violently inside his mouth.

"Fifty thousand pounds?!" Naruto screamed hysterically, his voice echoing against the chamber walls as he finally pinned Sasuke down. His hands tightened around pale skin. "Are you fucking serious, Sasuke?! You're standing in Awrutshimaru's tomb for christ's sake! People have been looking for this guys for hundreds of years and you're pawning off his stuff for pocket change?!"

For once Sasuke had the gall to look offended. It quickly disappeared.

"And what would you do with this if it were in your possession?" Sasuke said icily, his body straining against Naruto's as he tried to find leverage to dislodge him, not giving Naruto a chance to respond. "You would give it to a museum, where it would sit on a _shelf._ "

"That's…!"

"Different?" Sasuke finished for him. Before Naruto could say anything back, Sasuke took the opportunity to bash their foreheads together, making Naruto groan and loosen his hold. From there, it was easy to slip out of Naruto's grasp and even easier to reach for the idiots own gun, pulling it out of the holster.

"Shit!" Naruto gasped in surprise when a bullet, _his bullets,_ flew past him, nearly hitting him in the arm.

"That was a close one, dickless." Sai cooed from his cushy spot on the ground. He'd make a pretty picture with a large popcorn and soda.

Sasuke smirked and picked up his original revolver, chuckling low in his throat.

This wasn't good. Usually Naruto would look for somewhere to hide, but the only thing that could possibly shield him was the sarcophagus, and he'd be damned if he ruined something that priceless just to cover his ass. And the bastard knew that.

Naruto cussed under his breath as a bullet hit the dirt right in front of his foot and he jumped back, then rolled out of the way as two more shots came. As athletic as he was, he didn't know how long he'd have to run around in circles like a chicken with its head cut off. Trying to out-run a bullet wasn't much of a strategy since Sasuke's aim was precise, calculated. Each time Naruto went in one direction the asshole was ready, just barely missing him by a fraction of an inch and reloading quickly.

"For fifty-thousand pounds, I couldn't care less if it's used as a paper weight."

Sasuke discarded his first pistol and reached into his other holster, pulling out a second one. The situation was getting heavy. It was clear Sasuke was just toying with him, and Naruto wondered if he'd really finish their game of cat and mouse for good this time.

"In a museum it can be _preserved,_ Sasuke," Naruto said harshly, trying to level his momentum. He dived to the floor and jerked when another shell lodged itself into the sand near him. "It can be _studied_. The role of a museum, asshole, isn't just to show off dead bodies to grade schoolers on a field trip-gah! It's to collect objects and materials of historical importance so they can be researched!"

Naruto jumped back, another bullet just barely grazing his thigh and he swallowed thickly. It seemed like Sasuke was tiring of the game. At this rate, he was going to end up with a few holes in him if he didn't think fast.

"How in the hell do you think history books are written anyways?" Naruto questioned frantically. "By pulling theories out of our asses and shoving them onto a piece of paper?"

"The defender of justice act gets old, Naruto." Sasuke commented idly, reaching in his satchel for another clip. Sai cheerfully nodded in agreement.

If Naruto weren't bracing himself for another marathon he would have wiped that smug look off Sai's face. His only option right now was for Sasuke to run out of clips.

That moment came sooner than expected when Sasuke paused, looking confused.

The fucker ran out of bullets.

"Let me try something new then!" Naruto yelled. Naruto's knife was out and nicking Sasuke's cheek before he had a chance to blink.

Sasuke dodged back and Naruto screamed, swiping at him again. The straps across Sasuke's body holding his holsters, snapped. The empty barrels crashed to the floor; Naruto tripped over one of them, his eyes widening as he fell face first into the sand.

Sasuke was immediately on him, his haggard breathing filling the room. His crotch applied pressure into Naruto's back, and Naruto found himself flushed—from the fight.

"What was that about showing me something new, _Naruto?_ " Sasuke whispered lowly against his ear.

His pulse spiked. The pressure increased, and all of a sudden he felt even more dizzy. If Sasuke continued to have the upper hand like this, maybe his only option was to have him listen to reason.

"Look…" Naruto started. For some reason it was difficult to structure a sentence when Sasuke was covering him with his body. "The… The _only_ reason we know _anything_ is because of findings like these, through the preservation of artifacts... It's through artifacts where we can uncover not only the truth about our past, but actually have some fucking insight on the future. What kind of valuable information can we get if some disgusting snob's using that thing as a show piece?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He was getting a headache listening to the moron go on and on, and he did this every time they met. Each time Naruto would give some noble reason as to why he shouldn't do this, and each time Sasuke couldn't care less. If Naruto wanted to be a martyr, that was fine. It was obnoxious, and suited him. Sasuke, however, was no saint, and he wouldn't pretend to be.

"Does research pay my rent?"

"No, but it…!"

"Then why the fuck would I care." He deadpanned, his hands smoothing across the expanse of Naruto's back before finally settling on his hips. Naruto's breath hitched nervously. He could feel Sasuke bend down, inky black locks tickling the nape of his neck. Sasuke admired the subservient position, but only briefly.

"This is for Luxor…" He murmured against the lobe of Naruto's ear, causing a shiver to wrack the archaeologist's body. The strange sensation Naruto felt before, the one that spread from the tips of his toes and scathed his cheeks was replaced with hot, searing pain.

"Fuck!" Naruto swore.

Sasuke got off and marveled at his handy work.

Naruto gritted his teeth and looked over his shoulder to find his knife, sheathed into the back of his thigh. Sasuke didn't sink it too deep, and it didn't feel like it hit an important artery but _fuck_ did it hurt. Naruto shakily reached for it and carefully, he ripped it out.

He had to bite his lip so he wouldn't scream.

" _Nngh_ …!"

Sasuke said nothing. He approached the heavy lid of the sarcophagus and with a low hum, motioned for Sai with his hand. Stepping over Naruto's crumpled form with not even a trace of remorse, Sai approached the other side of the sarcophagus and lifted the lid with some force. It slid to the floor with a loud clang and Sasuke smirked, reaching inside and dislodging a shining, ivory knife in the shape of a serpent from the iron like clasp of the pharaoh's grasp.

Naruto again cussed lowly, but it wasn't from the gash this time. He used the same knife that had tore into his flesh just seconds ago to rip the fabric of his shirt and he wrapped the article around the wound, applying pressure. He couldn't let Sasuke get away. He _wouldn't_ let Sasuke get away.

"Until next time, Naruto." Sasuke murmured, idly lifting the serpent up to the light to examine it. Once he was through, it disappeared inside his satchel. He walked around Naruto and towards the chamber's exit with only a backwards glance.

"It was a definite pleasure." Sai remarked pleasantly, and the horrifying part was he sounded like he meant it. "Hopefully the next time I get you out of your pants, I won't be working for the other side."

Sasuke's face tensed before morphing into a scowl. He paused in his steps.

"What?" He hissed.

Naruto slowly stood up, ignoring the fact that he was bleeding, and watched, horrified, as Sai closed the distance between them like before. Sai smiled, his hands snaking around to firmly grasp his waist, pulling him close.

"If you ever need anything else while you're in Cairo, you know where to find me…" He murmured before there was a palm pressing firmly against his crotch. "Dickless."

Naruto had reached the end of the line.

He drove his knee directly into Sai's crotch, feeling no sympathy whatsoever when he doubled over and fell to the floor. Trying not to appear mortified, and in more pain from exerting himself, Naruto ran a shaky palm through his hand. If it were up to him, and not the law, Sai would be six-feet deep in the sand.

"I bet you wish you _were_ dickless, right about now." Naruto snarled, limping around Sai's curled form to where Sasuke was standing, stark still. The look on his face was something he'd never seen before, even in all their previous encounters. It was concentrated. Intense.

"What did he mean by that?" Sasuke asked lowly. Naruto felt like his expression alone could collapse the structure of the tomb, and it made him hesitant to respond.

"It means that while you got what you wanted, so did I." Sai responded from his place on the floor, and Sasuke—if it were at all possible—tensed further. "Or at least… part of it."

Unsure of what exactly was going on, or even why anything that came out of Sai's mouth mattered, Naruto glared. It started to click into place.

"Oh, I see what's going on here." He huffed, turning around to look down at Sai accusingly. He was pissed that he hadn't figured it out sooner. "You're both trying to distract me! Well guess what, it… _ngh,_ it isn't gonna work! Because neither you, or Sasuke, are leaving this place…. not until I get back that dagger. If you think just because I'm bleeding I'm going to let you waltz out of here…. heh, then you've got another thing coming."

Naruto laughed hollowly, redirecting his attention to the real culprit who was cornered and finally right where he wanted him. He wasn't getting away from him this time.

"Sasuke, the only way out of here is through that crawlspace, and you're not…"

Naruto's lips snapped shut.

Where Sasuke once stood was now an empty space, and he fell onto his hands and knees, peering through the narrow passage just in time to see Sasuke's form disappear from it. He grounded his teeth.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Sai mentioned languidly, now fully recovered. "He told me to tell you that the score's now 4:3."


	2. Chapter 2: Patience

**A/N:**

Considering I'm impatient, I posted this one early. The next one will be up in about a week or two! I'm so happy everyone has been responding to this story so positively!

* * *

 **Chapter Two:** Patience Paves the way to problems

* * *

"Stop making that face, it's irritating me."

A steady palm met Naruto's nose with a light smack, and he huffed at the contact, burying his head into his hands.

He couldn't help it. It had been been nearly a month since he confronted Sasuke in Awrutshimaru's tomb, but he still couldn't get the loss out of his mind. Or the scar to disappear from his thigh where the bastard stabbed him. Again.

His only consolation was that Sasuke's body bore a few marks from him as well.

"Just thinkin' about it makes me mad, is all…" Naruto grumbled petulantly. That artifact could be anywhere by now. It could be hanging on a mantle as a decoration, cast away into the black market or _worse_ _—_ on a living room floor somewhere getting chewed on by some overly-privileged pooch. He cringed.

"Then don't think about it." Came the simple answer from the man next to him, who touched his shoulder in firm reassurance.

Naruto sighed, looking up at his friend. Dark long hair, that usually framed alabaster skin, was tied in a ponytail today. Muted silver rounded on him, surveying his gloomy form. While Naruto was rocking cargo pants and a tee, this person was dressed in his usual attire: black dress pants and a tailor made vest.

"Our team is examining the mummy and the other artifacts that you recovered. You needn't concern yourself with anything else."

"But Neji, you don't get it. You should have seen how close I was! It was right there!" Naruto moaned, his elbows collapsing on the marble counter. He pressed his cheek against the cool surface of the museum's information kiosk and let out a despairing breath of air. People shuffled past the scene without a backwards glance.

"And Sai, that creep. After I got him arrested for artifact trafficking someone bailed him out somehow. Can you believe it? I saw him walking around the bazaar yesterday. The asshole didn't even look sorry. He _winked_ at me."

Neji rested his head on his hand, glancing down at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

 _"Did the sheep manure turn to caramel?"_ He delivered in fluent Arabic. Neji's voice was smooth and calm, despite the claim of being 'irritated'.

Naruto was familiar with Egyptian proverbs, but he hadn't heard that one before. His eyebrows knitted together, giving Neji a distinguished look of confusion. Neji exhaled through his nose.

"Don't expect a bad person to suddenly turn good." He restated, mildly disappointed.

"Oh…Right." Naruto murmured. He'd file that one away for later.  
 _  
_With that advice in mind, it wasn't even just Sai that bummed him out. Since the discovery of Awrutshimaru's sarcophagus, diggers have been on the clock non stop trying to uncover more priceless artifacts. They hoped that since they found Awrutshimaru, maybe they could dig up one of his advisers or even a scribe. Yet there's been no luck so far, and Naruto wasn't counting on anything anytime soon.

"Fine, I'll forget Sai, but I need a new distraction or I'm gonna go crazy." Naruto said out loud, desperate, though it was muffled against the table top. "Any mummies in All Selum that need to be discovered? Something shiny in the sand in Dahsur? _Come on,_ there needs to be _something, damn it I'm dying here._ "

In spite of being twenty-five, Neji was certain Naruto was perpetually five years old.

"Patience is a virtue." He said sternly, much like a mother condemning her child's obnoxious squirming in public. "It's a proverb you know, yet never heed."

"Harr. Harr. I seriously can't help it okay? I guess since I'm always on the move, lately things just seem slow."

"Only _you_ would be uncomfortable standing still. If you're so eager to work, work on your self control. Or you could always help me with the paperwork to document our findings, instead of squirming." Neji remarked. He idly watched tourists file out of the museum as the faint chime of a bell signaled its closing. "Naruto, I can still _feel_ you squirming."

"Gah, fine!" Naruto shouted, reluctantly trying to stay still. He's worked for The Hyuga Museum of Egyptian antiquities for almost three years now _—_ a position most formerly given to his mother and father when they moved to Egypt when he was ten.

Although Naruto had a degree in Archaeology, he had went to school and double majored in Linguistics and culture. Like his mom, he could read and write ancient Egyptian, so he'd often be called in to make sense of new findings. If today was one of those days, he wouldn't have been bored out of his mind.

"Naruto," Neji whispered a little forcefully, "lookup."

Hearing the warning in his voice, Naruto picked up his head just in time to see a small boy was with his parents, wildly flailing his hands at them in goodbye.

Naruto returned the gesture with a large smile, waving back at him just as energetically. They had just started displaying Awrutshimaru's canopic jars to the public and he should have been filled with a sense of pride. But instead, all he felt was frustration.

Once the kid vanished out of sight Naruto slumped over the counter again.

Neji scowled at the over dramatic display, shaking his head.

"You're obsessed."

"What?" Naruto grunted, glancing up at Neji questioningly. "What the hell are you saying?"

"With Uchiha," Neji reiterated, something sour in his tone, "you're obsessed. This isn't the first time you've lost to him yet here you are, thinking about him. Bemoaning your own failures doesn't suit you. "

"Hey! I'm _not_ obsessed with that jerk! It's just, he made off with the _dagger,_ Neji." Naruto emphasized with a beating fist. The counter shook. "You know, Awrutshimaru's sacrificial dagger? The one used to kill all those slaves?"

"I'm well aware of the daggers significance... I don't need a lesson in history, Naruto. If anyone has more knowledge about the Twelfth Dynasty at their disposal, it's me." Neji reminded him sharply, signalling vaguely around them.

Naruto's face, heavy with irritation, softened in admission. Neji was right.

"You've been sulking around my museum since you've returned from your excursion."

"Can't I be bummed about it?" Naruto responded grumpily. After all, he has been looking for the damn thing his whole life.

"You can, just not in my presence." Neji plainly stated. He closed the visitor's book that had been laid out in front of him and clapped his hands twice. The lights shut off in the main entrance of the museum. "I have always admired your willingness to stay positive, even in the face of difficulty… and right now, you are betraying my confidence." **  
****  
**Listening to make sure that the museum was completely devoid of people, Neji shut off the desk lamp.

He walked around the booth and ran a hand through his hair. Any volunteers that had helped with selling passes to certain exhibits were now vacating towards their respective locker rooms. Neji would have to check with his custodians about the lackluster state of some of their floors. With more than two million visitors a day, most of which being tourists, he'd had enough experience with children leaving his hallways in disarray.

Speaking of children. Glancing behind him, Neji found Naruto had grown completely silent. He wondered if he'd been too blunt in his assertion, however, it was a correct one. He never went a day without hearing about Uchiha, and speaking about the man who stood against everything the museum represented was more than a little trying on his patience.

"... You're right." Naruto spoke up suddenly. Neji quirked an eyebrow in honest surprise. **  
****  
**"While I am always happy to have you acknowledge my correctness, would you care to be more specific on exactly what I am right about this time?" Neji's eyes held a glint of amusement.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "About staying positive. You're right. I shouldn't let that asshole get to me… I'm pissed that he made off with the dagger, but standing around and thinking about it isn't going to bring it back."

Naruto hopped over the booth so they were standing side by side, facing the foyer.

"I'll just have to find a way to track him down somehow and beat the buyer's name out of him..." Naruto finished, his voice not sounding at all displeased at that prospect.

Neji's brow creased slightly. "Just be careful when you do go after him, Naruto. He seems to have… some sort of fixation with you. And I don't like the way he gets under your skin so easily."  
 **  
**Hearing that subtle change in Neji's voice again, Naruto blinked twice, confused. His lips curled into a sly smile when he finally recognized what it was. It's been awhile since he's seen it.

"Yeah?" Naruto chuckled, leaning back against the table. Neji's gaze stayed trained on the movement. "Well, it's funny you say that since he couldn't keep his hands off me. The last time we fought, did you know he had me pinned down? The bastard was sure _fixated_ on keeping me-"

Neji stepped in, not letting him finish. He pushed Naruto up against the counter, elegant fingers wrapping around his hips possessively. Blue orbs lit up in amusement and challenge.

"If you've been wanting someone to pin you down, Naruto, you know that all you had to do was ask me."

Neji slid his thumbs along Naruto's cheekbones, forcing their eyes to lock together. It had been hard these past several months, staying away from each other. They both knew that this wasn't going to go anywhere, but Naruto always knew just how to push Neji's buttons. Even when he didn't try.

Naruto craned his head forward, sliding his lips against the smooth pasture of skin along Neji's collarbone. He hadn't gotten any action in a while and honestly, he was so frustrated about losing the dagger and losing to _Sasuke_ he hadn't really wanted to do anything else except scream. Running his hands through Neji's hair, Naruto tugged on it lightly, bringing his head down and smashing their lips together in a rough kiss.

Neji didn't need any further invitation. He could play the refined professional to a Tee, but he reveled in Naruto's coarse, wild nature. He pressed harder against his sometime lover, bringing their bodies flush and sliding his hands down to grip Naruto's ass. When Naruto arched back, Neji's lips slid down to Naruto's collarbone and sucked. The mark wouldn't show unless his shirt was removed, so it was safe enough. Neji would know it was there.

Naruto exhaled shakily. His grip on inky locks slacked as a pleasant shiver ran throughout his body. He needed a distraction, so maybe this was the one he was looking for. Neji slowly spread Naruto's legs with his knee and he bit his lip, holding back a soft moan, relishing in the delicious friction as it rubbed against him. He was just about to suggest maybe they bring this somewhere more private when a gentle voice carried in from the end of the hall. **  
**

"Neji? Are you here?" Hinata called out softly, and both men immediately sprung apart, their eyes wide.

Naruto hopped over to the other side of the kiosk and ducked, groaning low in his throat when he accidentally hit his head on the way down. Neji inwardly sighed, but suppressed a smirk at the sound of a painfully muttered cuss.

"I was just looking for one of my field journals. I'm in the foyer," he said calmly, combing a hand through his bangs.

As much as they were attracted to each other, they didn't advertise it. It was a mutual give and take. He would be frustrated with the many facets of running a museum, in need of relief, and Naruto would provide him with some. It was beneficial to both their hungers.

But Hinata's one-sided crush on Naruto had been legendary, in spite of Naruto's initial obliviousness to it. They both cared for her deeply, and the both of them knew that they could only be together behind closed doors, and only temporarily. That was how things worked, and Neji was a contender of constructive repetition.

Smoothing his pants, Neji walked towards the sound of Hinata's footfalls. Naruto pulled up the collar of his shirt with an awkward cough and, after peeking over the counter, stood up when he realized he hadn't been seen.

"Oh, there you are." Hinata said with a tender smile as she came upon them. Her beige jodhpurs were shedding sand and she fixed her disheveled long hair, moving it out of her face. Buttoning her silk blouse which was also unkempt, Neji narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"You were with the diggers again."

Hinata's smile faltered at the statement, lips parting to offer up an excuse. She then seemed to decide against it. Tucking a stray hair behind her ear with a guilty expression, her eyes flickered anxiously around the room before they landed on Naruto. She flushed.

"O-Oh! N-Naruto, I didn't realize you were here too."

"Uh, yeah! I'm just visiting again," Naruto laughed, nervously scratching the back of his head. "This guy would lose his mind if I didn't swoop by at least once."

"He was just wasting my time." Neji clarified, earning a glare from the archaeologist. He focused back on his earlier deduction. "Hinata, you promised me you would stay away from the dig site."

"I was just looking." Hinata lied. She'd grown better at concealing things with a straight face, a skill Neji suspected had come from a certain imbecile he knew. However, he could still read between the lines.

In spite of being knowledgeable in Egyptology, Hinata was denied clearance to go out in the field due to lack of experience. Much like Naruto, Hinata yearned to unearth history head on, and while Neji supported her dreams he knew too well the dangers involved in excavating.

Structures could collapse, hypothermia could set in; environmental conditions were always a setback as well as chemical and biological hazards. Although Neji knew he needn't worry about her getting into knife fights _—_ that kind of unfathomable scenario seemed to solely be reserved for Naruto, who ran into trouble wherever he went _—_ he still wasn't comfortable with the risks.

More so, Neji was aware that a position as a librarian for the museum only worsened her longing to explore; and with Naruto's growing influence, she might soon be uncontrollable.

That would make it much harder to look out for her.

"Did they find anything else yet?" Naruto asked excitedly. He walked around the desk towards her, ignoring Neji's grimace of disapproval. Naruto leaned in so close that blond tufts of hair gently caressed Hinata's cheeks as he whispered, "I won't tell anyone, 'kay? Pinky promise."

His eyes blazed. A brilliant sky opened up around her, shining with curiosity as he held up his pinky finger. Hinata's cheeks dusted red at the sight of them up close. She wrapped her finger around his, giggling when Naruto squeezed back to seal the deal.

"W-Well…T-They haven't found anything yet, but..." Hinata started timidly. She stammered when she noticed Naruto's face instantly sank with disappointment. "B-But! I do… have something for you, Naruto…"

Naruto's face lit up again.

"Eh? What's that?" He grinned, expectant. This time it was Hinata who leaned in close, covering the movements of her lips with an elegant hand. Neji watched the two of them critically.

"I asked my friend about that favor you needed and… I-I think he knows who the buyer is, the one who could have purchased the dagger from Uchiha."

"WHAT?!" Naruto's shout could have woken up the bodies in the sarcophagi on the seventh section of the museum. Neji raised an eyebrow at the outburst, warily. His earlier concern of Naruto being, perhaps, not the best influence only grew.

"Eh-heh. Uh, I mean…" Naruto licked his lips, suddenly remembering that Neji was behind them, scrutinizing their exchange. He just couldn't help it. His heart was beating a mile a minute. He asked Hinata a while ago if there was anyway he could find out who the artifact was sold to, but he didn't expect something to turn up. It was just his luck that Hinata said she knew someone who worked with the Egyptian government.

"Really, are you serious?" He whispered harshly.

Hinata nodded her head and smiled, digging into the pockets of her pants. She pulled out a slip of paper folded into squares. She placed it in Naruto's awaiting hand, boldly leaning in to whisper again, "His name is Lee. H-He's a bit… enthusiastic, uhm… but he says he'll meet you here. Look at it when you get home, okay?"

"Gotcha." Naruto acquiesced, wishing he could look at it now. However, there was something he needed to check on before he followed this new lead.

He'd been hopping from place to place since the incident, not wanting to leave Cairo in anticipation that Sasuke may have stuck around. But there wasn't any sign of him, which meant that there was a high chance he probably left the city _—_ or worse, left Egypt.

"Hinata, you're seriously the coolest," Naruto said genuinely, and he pulled her into a tight hug. "Why can't your _cousin be this awesome?"_ He finished loudly, just enough for Neji to hear, and Neji rolled his eyes. _Yes,_ Naruto was definitely five years old.

Hinata's smile only grew more tender as she hugged him back. "I-It's no problem at all…" She squeezed him gently. "You can always come to me for anything, okay?"

"I will!" He promised, grinning molar to molar. Naruto stepped back and returned his gaze to Neji, who was looking off to the side now in a show of indifference.

"I'll see you soon!"

Neji grimaced. He knew what that meant. Naruto was embarking on most likely another dangerous escapade, and there was nothing he could do that would stop him _—_ and he wouldn't try.

Naruto was not his to claim. Friendship _—_ _with some noteworthy benefits—_ was all that could exist between them, and Neji was resigned for it to stay that way.

Naruto didn't know it, but it was quite clear that his mind seemed constantly in pursuit of a certain individual. Considering there wasn't a lot of space up there already, Neji knew that an attempt to make room for anything more would have detrimental effects on their bond.

He deliberated that it was far too important to chance it, and he believed that Naruto came to that conclusion himself, whether he voiced it or not.

"Next time you see me, attempt to bring much more livelier conversation with you than your list of complaints." Neji commented idly, though he attempted to smile in spite of the dissatisfaction he felt from earlier.

Growing up with the Uzumaki's, Neji became well accustomed to Naruto's inherently impetuous nature. Once his mind was set on something there was nothing he could do to change it, and trying would go against everything Neji admired about him.

"I will." Naruto pledged, because this time he was coming back victorious. With this new lead, he could find the stolen dagger much faster than he thought. And if he did, he could get a one up on Sasuke. Maybe he could even stop him for good.

Waving his friends goodbye he stepped out into the dim shadow of the evening's sunset. He had a felucca waiting in Bulaq, Cairo's port town, which would to take him to his temporary place in Alexandria. He hadn't been to his apartment in a while, but there were a few things he needed to check on first before he could set out on another journey.

However long it would take though, Naruto swore he'd find out who Sasuke sold the dagger too.

He would bring it home.

* * *

"About time someone _came home_." Naruto winced at the sharp voice, heavy with reprimand.

When he arrived at his doorstep at two in the morning, a pair of olive eyes were ready and narrowed with active interest in searching his body up and down.

There used to be a period in his life when that would have excited him — now all he felt was fear.

Sakura still looked the same. She was leaning against his door in her hospital scrubs. Her short pink hair, tied back into a messy ponytail, bobbed as she examined him.

"Did you hurt yourself again?" She asked seriously. Before Naruto could respond she held up a hand. He flinched. "What trouble did you get into this time, moron? Don't think I can't see that you're limping. Were you shot?"

 _Stabbed, actually,_ but it didn't look like Sakura really wanted an answer. Naruto's smile, wide enough to mask his anxiety, almost fell at the sight of his roommate cracking her knuckles. Oh, boy.

"As a child was your cradle rocked too close to the wall, because that's the _only_ explanation for why you _didn't_ call me."

"Sakura, I…!" Naruto found himself cut off by his friend's intense inquiry.

"Naruto Uzumaki, _save it,_ **"** she snapped. Sakura's temperament could rival even the warrior god Sekhmet's wrath. She stepped over to him and frowned, motioning with her index finger in a clockwise motion. Naruto hung his head and dropped his bags, knowing the drill.

He slowly rotated his body, assuring her that he _really_ did come back in one piece. When her furious gaze was finally appeased over his physical well being they returned to Naruto's face, well manicured hands following to lightly slap his cheek in reproach.

"Seriously, you've been gone for how long?" Sakura said incredulously, placing her hands on her hips. "What have you been doing all this time?"

He smiled at her nervously. What could he say? That he'd found Awrutshimaru's tomb? That he was going to come back soon until he got stabbed? _  
_  
"You're really about as smart as the bottom of your feet…" Sakura sighed. Her shoulders relaxed, or at least they attempted to. "I get that you're busy, but did you even think for a _second_ to try to contact me? You told me you'd only be gone for two weeks."

"I know, and I'm sorry. Really, just uh… things got kind of crazy, and… urgh, I'm sorry, Sakura." Naruto groaned pitifully.

He hadn't meant to stay in Cairo for that long. Just with Sasuke on the loose, he didn't want to miss an opportunity to get the artifact back if there'd been one. He scratched his cheek, wondering how he was going to make this up to her.

She shook her head. Soft pink lips lulled into a yielding smile. Naruto tried to offer a similar one back, but he couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Seriously, Sakura… I appreciate you looking after everything while I was gone."

"Just _contact me,"_ she said, heaving a sigh of what sounded like relief. "I was worried you got yourself killed."

She pulled Naruto into a warm embrace and Naruto hugged her back, breathing in the familiar scent of one of his best friends. A long time ago just seeing her would have rammed his heart into overdrive. When he first met Sakura, he'd been looking for a place to stay in Alexandria and one of their mutual friends introduced them. He thought she was beautiful the first time he laid eyes on her.

But Naruto had long since gotten over his crush; Sakura was probably the closest thing to family he had.

"So...," she quipped mid squeeze, "...did Sasuke corner you again?"

Naruto's face sunk with defeat.

His _family_ was perceptive.

"You're an open book, you know that?" She said, pulling away. Sakura opened the door to the apartment and led him inside. He picked up his things, following her through the entrance before settling them down in some random space by the coat rack. "Maybe if you weren't such a pea brain, you wouldn't be losing to him as much."

"Hey! I beat him almost as much as he beats me! And he has to play dirty to win." Naruto moaned, flailing his hands in an impression of the bullets flying at him every which way. To her it simply looked like he was frustrated.

"He even paid off one of my informants!"

"And that's whose fault? You trust people too easily, Naruto. I'm not even surprised that happened." Sakura stated, exasperated, yet it wasn't in reprimand. Naruto's unnatural ability to give anyone the benefit of the doubt was one of his most endearing qualities.

It's what drew people to him in the first place.

Naruto shut the door behind him. Blue eyes, dull with exhaustion, entered their dark living room with sinking unfamiliarity. His apartment was exactly how he left it _—_ poorly furnished, littered with books, and baptized with his dog's shedded hair stuck between the fibers of the carpet.

He fell on the couch with a tired grunt.

"I'm not saying that's a bad thing," Sakura continued as she went into the kitchen. "You just have to be more careful — people aren't as good as you'd like to think they are."

"I know…" Naruto didn't need another reminder. Sai's betrayal, while suspected, was a much needed reality check that some people were just born without empathy. Or shame, for that matter. "I just didn't expect Sasuke to show up there… I thought I shook him off in Luxor, yanno?"

"He shows up at every site you're investigating, right?" Sakura asked out loud, tapping her chin contemplatively. She reached into the kitchen cabinets. "Maybe he likes you?"

Naruto clenched his jaw.

Memories of hanging from collapsed bridges, to fighting off teams of paid bandits, suggested otherwise.

"If that's him liking me, I wouldn't wanna see that bastard hating me," he grumbled.

"Well, try not to think about it too much," Sakura said. She reentered the living room with a glass of juice, handing it to him. "You're annoying when you're depressed."

"And _you_ sound like Neji."

"Except _I_ don't try to get in your pants," Sakura smirked as Naruto's face went up in flames.

He took the glass from her, shifting into a more comfortable position. Once he was cozily sitting upright against the sofa, he noticed Sakura was heading into her own bedroom to grab something.

She reemerged with her purse and a small bundle of fur in her hands.

"Kurama!" Naruto grinned. His eyes lit up with excitement as she plopped him in his arms.

It was a wonder Kurama was even asleep. Usually the tan schipperke would be a flailing pain in his ass on a good day, but the little asshole looked worn out for once.

"He almost bit me the day you left," Sakura said sharply, glaring at the culprit. "I seriously don't know how you handle him, Naruto. He _ruined_ my sheets. He tried to get out of here a few times by turning the door handle. I even think he'd timed it for when I'd leave for work. He's a _demon._ "

"Aww, Kurama? He's not a demon. He's twelve years old, I think he's just a grumpy old man inside. Always angry, always constipated _—_ wishing we'd get off his lawn." Naruto rationalized, in spite of being on the other end of his mood swings too many times than he could count. He's been away from home for so long he'd actually missed Kurama, terrible attitude and all.

He cradled Kurama's sleeping chin in his hand and attempted to make the constantly resentful looking fleabag smile. "Maybe if ya took a good ol' dump, you wouldn't be such a grouch all the time, eh?"

"You're so gross." Sakura reproached, her expression pained. She moved toward the door as Naruto chuckled.

"Going to work at the hospital?"

"It's going to be a long night. I'm taking the late shift, and I just found out there was an accident nearby," Sakura adjusted the strap of her bag, "so I won't be back until later. We need to go shopping, but I left some ramen for you in the cupboard, and there's eggs in the fridge." **  
****  
**"Sakura you're my _favorite_." **  
**  
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sakura rolled her eyes. She waved a hand in the air casually, heading out. "You would be helpless without me. But, if you ever leave for that long without telling me again, I'll kill you," she finished sweetly.

Naruto knew she wasn't joking either. She _really_ would murder him, and he couldn't imagine a more painful death.

As she left, the smell of his dog emanating from a suspicious spot on the carpet drew his attention. Naruto scrunched up his nose.

"Kurama, I'm seriously going to throw you in the Nile one of these days," he chided, realizing that not only was there a piss stain, but a patch of carpet had been pawed at and mangled by the disgruntled animal while he'd been gone.

Kurama whined and stirred in his arms. When he finally opened his eyes and looked at Naruto, it was with the most scornful face the archaeologist had ever seen. Kurama looked pissed, possibly from being left alone for so long, or being left with Sakura.

Naruto figured it was a combination of the two.

"What? Did you miss me?" Naruto teased. "Or are you mad that you didn't get to spend more time with Sakura?"

Kurama snapped his teeth at him, letting out three high pitched barks that probably meant _fuck you human_ in dog speak.

"Hey, it isn't like you can take care of yourself you stupid dog. Did you expect me to bring you along or something?"

The growl that followed was a definite indicator that _yes,_ that should have been obvious. He should have been brought along.

"Ugh, I'll make it up to you later, alright?" It was nothing some kibble and a new chew toy wouldn't fix.

Naruto didn't know when he started to negotiate with him like this, but it seemed natural, like Kurama was really listening. He downed his lemonade with a few fervent gulps before he laid it flat on the carpet; and Kurama's head turned up, seeming to snort at the notion that Naruto thought he could be so easily swayed.

Hopping off his lap, the dog seemed fascinated with the living room curtains. The breeze from the sliding door, leading out to their balcony, carried the soothing scent of the sea into the apartment. Sakura must have cracked open the patio door to air out the little guy's stench. Kurama padded towards it. The grouch snarled.

Naruto just rolled his eyes. Whatever temper tantrum Kurama was having right now he'd deal with when he woke up. Naruto tried not to mind the noises as he spread out along the cushions. More room for him. The sooner he got some rest, the sooner he could meet Hinata's friend, Lee, who possibly knew the location of the ritual dagger.

While falling asleep on the couch wasn't the best idea _—_ he'd sometimes wake up with Kurama sitting on his face _—_ he was too lazy to schlep over to his bedroom. So Naruto just hoped he wouldn't wake up with a bunch of fur in his mouth, or worse, Kurama's terrible breath in his face.

"I'm going to bed…" Naruto muttered to the squirming thing, fully aware Kurama probably wasn't paying attention. "Do anything weird and I'll have you neutered, you hear me?"

Kurama didn't say anything.

Instead of barking at him in response like he'd usually do, blindingly white canines, courtesy of Sakura's compulsion with hygiene, threatened to tear into his skin. The black tipped schipperke had padded over towards the couch to tug on his pants leg. Naruto resisted the urge to kick him for being annoying.

" _Kurama_..." He grumbled, trying to move away. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with him? " 'M trying to sleep. Stop being a brat…"

"Then stop being careless."

It was like he'd been scorched.

Naruto practically sprung off the couch at the intrusion, wobbling into an offensive stance.

Kurama was on high alert. His dog turned bodyguard, now completely stiff and yelping frantically, bared his teeth at the sound. Anxious growling grew louder, more predatory, and Naruto followed the animal's trained gaze toward the balcony where a familiar figure now stood.

He'd know that arrogant voice anywhere.

"Sasuke," Naruto glared into the darkness. His nerves were electric charged, threatening to start sparks. Under the glow of the moonlight, piercing onyx regarded them both with infuriating stoicism, "what the hell do you want?"

Then came an answer he'd never expected.

"Your help."


	3. Chapter 3: Surprises

**A/N: Much hype. Such excite.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three:** Surprises are better than promises

* * *

 **Siwa Oasis, Eygpt** **  
****واحة سيوة** **  
** **Three years ago**

 _Naruto hauled himself out of the water with a mangled cough, propping himself onto the senescent staircase. His heart strummed against his rib cage, frantic and violent, pulsating and insistent in its desire for oxygen as his body convulsed._

 _He'd been underwater for three minutes, but to him it felt like a lifetime._

 _It was three years ago when they met for the first time. The recently certified archaeologist brushed back damp bangs, tan fingers gently curving around the shape of the carnelian sphinx with almost delirious possession._

 _Naruto had traveled all the way to Siwa with a satchel full of uncertainties-but he'd actually done it. He had successfully descended into Uwhutsu's chambers without so much as a scratch. And possible lung damage, but that wasn't what was important._

 _"Incredible…," Naruto whispered hoarsely, rolling onto his back. He held up the amulet just so it'd dangle in front of his eyes. This was his first find. The joy he felt could propel him backwards through time and forward again. The exhilaration was making his hands tremble._

 _"How did it go?" a voice came from above him, where two pairs of eyes gazed down at his sprawled form with mild concern. Naruto lazily blinked up at the lead member of his expedition team._

 _Shino, the head honcho in charge, crouched to his level, gesturing quietly for Naruto to hand him what he found. Behind him a pale man with jet black eyes, covered in a traditional Egyptian gallebaya and kaftan, watched him with bemused concentration. Naruto still couldn't tell what expression Shino had underneath his tinted, schutzbrille field goggles, but nothing was making him more antsy than this strangers staring._

 _"I got my hands on a funerary piece. Sphinxes are usually associated with tombs and all that jazz, so finding one here isn't surprising," Naruto said as he grudgingly handed it to him. Shino delicately rubbed the dirt off of the amulet with his thumb, examining its condition._

 _"I just don't have enough time. The most I can hold my breath down there is three minutes. The water's kind of gross and convoluted so it's a little hard to see, y'know?"_

 _"I expected as much," Shino said, his voice a dull, gravelly rasp. "There hasn't been an excavation here since 1932, which was nearly fifty years ago… the burial chambers are flooded with groundwater, so I anticipated that anything down there could be gone or suffering extensive water damage…"_

 _"If we just had the right equipment I would've come back with more of a story to tell." Naruto assured him, fanning himself with an open but moist palm. "How are things going up there?"_

 _Shino handed him back the amulet. "TenTen's already finished today's report. The first and second levels are cleared out. There's nothing that hasn't already been found by previous archaeologists, so for now, there's no need for you to go under again."_

 _Naruto nodded, somewhat disappointed that they were calling it a day. He could still do work for a couple more hours, but he guessed he was getting ahead of himself._

 _If anyone had told him he would be excavating an important dig right out of college, Naruto would have told them to stop fucking around and eat sand. Yet here he was, and he was damn lucky to be there. While he'd felt excited when he got the call, there was also a looming sense of pressure wherever he went. Naruto was the youngest in his field, and he didn't miss the critical stares when he met with Shino and the other already established diggers that morning._

 _His family's rep helped give him an in amongst the archaeological community, since his mother and father's track record permitted unspoken, unquestionable faith, even in their kin. The Uzumaki name came with expectations. However, he wasn't about to let that go to his head or let anyone down._

 _Naruto swept a hand through his hair again, brushing the unruly mess away from his forehead. From behind Shino, the stranger he'd noticed earlier watched him intently._

 _"And how about… that guy?" Naruto squinted, trying to see past the dark turban and questionable smirk. A strange sensation coiled in his gut as he and man locked eyes. Naruto supposed he could label the suspicion he felt then as instinct. "Who's he?"_

 _"His name is Sasuke," Shino stated plainly, gesturing mildly toward him, "He was sent from the oasis with papers from the Ministry of state for Antiquities. He's overseeing our work."_  
 **  
**Naruto raised a gilded brow in interest, holding Sasuke's gaze with his own. He'd done research on this place before coming here. Naruto had done a thesis paper on its historical acceptance of same sex marriage practices. It was minimally populated, isolated, and definitely didn't have a branch from the state for Antiquities. Something didn't add up.

 _"Funny," Naruto snorted, crossing his arms. "I didn't know the Ministry had a department in Siwa."_ **  
** **  
**"They don't. I was here on personal business," Sasuke responded cooly, his face a blank canvas but his darkened orbs lit up with an unspoken, pernicious intent.

 _"Personal, huh?" Naruto's lips unconsciously formed a thin, tight line. "What's that mean?"_

 _"Hn. It means it's personal, and my business, moron."_

 _Naruto didn't know what it was but something about Sasuke immediately got under his skin. He glared at the dark-eyed man. The air around them grew stilted. Shino must have known there was nothing that could pierce the tension between them as he decided to disappear up the steps, leaving Sasuke's attentions on Naruto to not waver._

 _Naruto stood up to his full height, placing the artifact in his satchel and dusting off the grime from his slacks. He'd always been good at reading people. He could even say it was his superpower; and right then, he was getting bad vibes. Naruto squared his shoulders, his jaw tensing as Sasuke simply stood in front of him, blocking his path._

 _"Can you move?" He growled._

 _Sasuke shifted slightly. His hand carefully reached inside of the folds of his kaftan, and Naruto thought he saw a glint of metal._

 _Before Naruto could even process what was happening he was grabbed by his hair. Sasuke's hand tightened around golden tufts, using them to guide Naruto's face into a painfully jagged step. The impact was disorienting and intense. Sasuke hooked an arm around Naruto's throat and lightly squeezed._

 _Soon enough he was on the floor, with Sasuke pressed securely against his slick chest, leaning in close. Blood trickled down Naruto's forehead as he struggled to catch wind._

 _"Scream, and I'll slit your throat," Sasuke hissed in his ear. Naruto guessed what he saw earlier was a knife as he said nothing, simply focused on his breathing when Sasuke struggled to reach behind him into his satchel._

 _Knowing what he was about to do, Naruto took the opportunity to sink his teeth into Sasuke's forearm and tore into the skin. Sasuke made a pained noise and Naruto didn't stop there. There were Five basic Kodokan judo techniques, and he'd practiced how to get out of each one with minimal difficulty. This was nothing to him._

 _He gripped the slack hold around his throat and bent Sasuke's arm to an uncomfortable angle. Sasuke quickly let go and Naruto heaved a sigh of relief as the man groaned on top of him, planning his next move._

 _It was his first time encountering a grave robber and he'd prepared for the possibility. However, what he didn't prepare for was the thousand year old cave collapsing on them. The newly disturbed passage-way must have destabilized the ancient structure, and before Naruto and Sasuke could make sense of the sound they were hearing, dirt and rocks started to fall from the ceiling. Naruto was on his back, so he was able to see the large piece of stone directly above them where cracks were rapidly forming around._

 _"Oh, FUCK!" Naruto didn't waste any time in changing his hold, grabbing Sasuke's shoulders and rolling them out of the way just seconds before part of the ceiling came smashing down._

 _Sasuke stared up in surprise as Naruto panted heavily on top of him. Where they once were lay a pile of rubble. The adrenaline coursed through Naruto's body, his fight or flight response having just shifted dramatically in only a few minutes. But it looked like neither of them got hurt. They'd avoided a really close call._

 _With their foreheads pressed together, Naruto found his hands resting beside Sasuke's head. As he looked down, he suddenly realized how young his attacker was. The material covering most of Sasuke's face had slipped onto the floor beside them, revealing refined features and a penetrative obsidian gaze boring back at him with interest._

 _Sasuke was handsome, if Naruto put it mildly, or hot as hell, if he were being more straightforward. He'd come to terms with his sexuality years ago so Naruto knew that under different circumstances, the man underneath him would fit his ideal._

 _He was more lean than Naruto, but the torn kaftan revealed a body that was physically fit. Naruto licked his lips, trying to snap himself out of his immersion. Sasuke seemed to catch his wandering eyes and he subconsciously flushed when the other smirked._

 _"Do you plan on getting off of me, dobe?"_

 _Arrogant bastard._

 _"I just saved your life, give me a fucking second to catch my breath," Naruto huffed._

 _Doing that was hard though, as Naruto became increasingly hyper aware of the position they were in. With much more difficulty than normal-whether from the shock of the collapse or Sasuke's appearance-he managed to roll off him, laying on his back on the dirt floor of the cave as they both took a moment to breathe, grateful that they still could. Sasuke made an indistinct noise in the back of his throat, sitting up._

 _"You okay?" Naruto asked._

 _Sasuke gave him this almost disturbed look, like he couldn't believe Naruto would show genuine concern._

 _"I am."_

 _"Just peachy. Now, can you explain to me what the fuck you were thinking?" Naruto glared. He extended his arms to the side, gesturing frantically at the debris. "Seriously, this right here was karma! You pose as a government official and try to steal from a dig site? You could get arrested!"_

 _"Funny. You're making it seem like you don't plan on turning me in." Sasuke truly expressed his disbelief in the others stupidity with a heavily etched scowl. "Or are you that dumb?"_

 _"I… you haven't actually stolen anything yet," Naruto hedged, earning an eyebrow raise from the raven. He was confused himself. Yet something inside of him screamed that he should give Sasuke a chance to weigh over things. The prison system in Egypt was not kind to anyone, and it sure wouldn't be kind to a bandit. "Just promise not to try this kind of shit again."_

 _Sasuke rolled his eyes and stood up. "God, you're dumb."_

 _"What did you say!? I'm trying to help you, you bastard! Do you have any idea what they do to grave robbers here?"_

 _"I don't need your help," Sasuke responded curtly._

 _Naruto almost retracted his decision from earlier when he noticed a hand reach out to him, almost reluctantly._

 _Sasuke looked off to the side at the attempted modest gesture and Naruto blinked when he realized, in spite of his earlier response, the jerk was trying to help him up off the ground._

 _Naruto took the palm in his own and allowed himself to be pulled up. He couldn't help but notice how naturally their hands fit against each other and he grinned, clasping it gratefully._

 _"Thanks," he murmured._

 _"Hn."_

 _His fingers tingled. Checking his satchel, Naruto was happy to see the artifact was still inside and not damaged by the tussle. Speaking of damage, the remnants of the collapsed ceiling luckily didn't cause any significant destruction to the already deteriorating passageway. The blow was minimal and thankfully not obstructing their way out. Sasuke's gaze flitted between the exit and the ground._

 _Naruto wondered if this was his first time attempting to steal from an excavation. But he couldn't form the words to ask why. He also wondered if he'd been forced into this particular type of lifestyle, judging by the mismatched emotions playing across Sasuke's face. He could hear the sound of the other members of the excavation team coming. Sasuke's bluff had paid off in the beginning, but with a cave-in, there would be more people coming and someone was bound to find out that Sasuke wasn't who he said he was._

 _If Sasuke didn't leave on his own now, he'd likely be leaving under heavy escort._

 _Although Naruto would later come to regret it, he moved aside and pointed up the stairs._

 _"There are two exits," he whispered, looking back over his shoulder to see if they had reached the chamber that he and Sasuke were in yet. Sasuke lifted his head to examine him with suspicion. Naruto bit back a frown._

 _"The way out of here, you know? You went through the main entrance probably, but there's hole just big enough for you to squeeze through on the second level. It'll be over to your right. Just… hurry up and slip out of here before anyone sees you."_

 _Sasuke gave one final look at Naruto's satchel, but the sound of approaching voices had him moving quickly and silently towards the secret exit._

 _"See you next time," Sasuke said, throwing a smirk over his shoulder._

 _"What?" Naruto asked, confused._

 _"I never agreed to your promise."_

* * *

"You need _my what_?" Naruto said in utter disbelief. Sasuke said nothing, only responding with a single nod. Naruto was still struggling to process what was happening. "What, you didn't screw me over enough the _last_ time I tried to help you?"

"This is different."

Naruto snorted at his words. The venomous sting of years of experience and regret coursed through his veins as he smiled humorlessly. "I don't keep any artifacts in my apartment, if that's what you're looking for," he snapped, feeling a visceral need to pull out his dagger, "So why are you really here?"

This just didn't make sense.

Naruto would help get him _arrested,_ sure. He would even gladly help remind Sasuke who he sold the artifact to by _helpfully_ beating him to a pulp. But he was pretty sure that wasn't what Sasuke meant by _help_ when he snuck into his apartment.

"You know about Ancient Egyptian rituals," Sasuke's attempt at casual conversation was easily hindered by the fact that he was suspiciously standing in the shadows.

Naruto furrowed his brows in confusion. Of course. He had to know that much, at least. His degree required extensive knowledge on Egyptian social life, temple texts, and the role of magic. He still couldn't wrap his head around why Sasuke cared though, as he crossed his arms. The bastard didn't appreciate history anyways, and he'd made that clear during the many times that they would face off.

"What does that have to do with anything? You didn't answer my question," Naruto grunted, growing more and more angry at the thought.

Sasuke's fixated stare suddenly grew glazed, unfocused.

"That means you know about curses…" he uttered lowly.

Kurama's growls grew more fierce. The mutt turned his head to him hastily, as if asking permission to pounce. Naruto had never seen Kurama this worked up before, and under different circumstances he would have let him strike too. If Naruto trusted anyone to mess up Sasuke it would be Kurama, and he knew the little bastard would enjoy it.

But right now, he was the one who wanted to rip into the asshole, and he let it be known when he closed the gap between them.

"Stop screwing around with me!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke simply flinched as he was slammed against the balcony window with little resistance.

He appeared unfazed as Naruto fisted his shirt and dug his other hand into his hip. "You better tell me who you sold that dagger to, Sasuke, or I'm gonna kick your ass. Actually, no, I'm _still_ going to knock your teeth in."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Pale fingers reached up to firmly wrap around Naruto's with just as much aggression, and Naruto prepared himself for a counterattack. He was itching to get a few swings in.

However, his grip slacked in surprise when instead, Sasuke's intense stare simmered into a reluctant plea for understanding. Pale lips opened and closed, as if struggling to form the right words. Naruto watched the movements with freakish fascination. This wasn't the same person who beat him in Awrutshimaru's tomb.

The way Sasuke was staring back at him, emotionless and unflinching even in the face of his proposed threat, unnerved him. Because he wasn't like this. He was a _lot_ of things. An asshole. An arrogant tomb raider. A cheat. But Sasuke wasn't agreeable. He wouldn't just let himself be pushed around like this.

Sasuke's voice was harsh and angry as he let his hands go limp at his sides, fiercely burning a hole into the ground.

"You asked who I sold the dagger to. His name is Kabuto Yakushi…"

Naruto balked. This definitely wasn't how he imagined this conversation would go _at all_. From all the times Naruto would run it in his head, it was more along the lines of him, demanding to know where the dagger was, and Sasuke refusing to tell him. They would fight, Sasuke would get his ass kicked, and Naruto would be on his merry way towards a long prison sentence.

Naruto found himself tongue tied, unsure of what to say.

"Why are you…" he started, only to get cut off.

Sasuke lifted his head and his bangs fell over his eyes.

"But he no longer has the dagger... I do."

"Wh-what?" Naruto sputtered brashly. That just made no sense at all. This had to be a joke, Sasuke was _definitely_ messing with him now. "Why would you have it?!"

"You're so loud," Sasuke seethed, his features twisting with pain.

"Just answer the question! Why do you…?!"

The rest of the words died off, with apparently the rest of Sasuke's strength.

Sasuke tore Naruto's hand away and collapsed to the floor on his hands and knees.

The natural light from the moon outside had fully cast over Sasuke's partially consumed silhouette, and Naruto realized with horror, that the only thing keeping Sasuke balanced against the wall had been his hand in the others shirt. Because he was bleeding. A lot.

Red stained his rivals usually unblemished black vest, and his undershirt lay riddled with holes. Naruto's eyes grew twice in size when he realized his own fingers had been digging painfully into what looked like a fresh wound, and he swallowed hard. Holy shit.

"Fucking christ, Sasuke..,." Naruto breathed. He was on the floor with him in an instant, his hand placed on the others back.

Sasuke was greedily taking in panicked, short breaths. The raven hissed sharply, placing a shaky palm against his shoulder. Naruto noticed the motion and carefully reached toward it. Did he get shot there? Is that why he lost blood? His mind was racing a mile a minute. This wasn't good. Naruto hastily looked around.

Sakura had an emergency kit in her room.

Naruto stood up and quickly rushed into her bedroom to find it, knowing that the best thing to do was to put pressure on the wound if he had indeed been shot. He wasn't even sure how bad it was, but he would have to asses the damage himself. Naruto was no medical expert, though, and if Sasuke were someone else he would be taking him to a hospital.

Naruto would just have to make due until Sakura got off her shift. When he came back into the living room, Sasuke had barely made his way over to the couch. Kurama had disappeared somewhere, probably indifferent since there seemed to be no threat. His dog had it easy.

Naruto shook his head and helped Sasuke to an upright position on the sofa. He turned on the lamp next to it.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked. Sasuke was _pale,_ unworldly pale. He'd never been tan to begin with, but right now he looked _sick._

Naruto tried to stave his nerves. He pulled out a gauze from the kit beside him, deftly reaching toward Sasuke's shoulder to have a better look.

Sasuke slapped his hand away.

"Don't…touch me," he spat, his voice so chillingly full of something inviolable and heavy that Naruto felt a shiver go through every part of him.

Naruto swallowed, trying to ignore the warning as he blew out an indignant puff of air through his nostrils. This was _not_ the moment to be prideful, especially when the bastard was bleeding on _his_ sofa.

Naruto knew that time wasn't his friend right now, so he forcefully pushed Sasuke's hand away and grabbed his shirt. Sasuke's whole body became rigid, then in an instant he was tremoring with anger.

"Don't _fucking_ touch me!" he roared, grasping Naruto's wrist and attempting to twist it away.

Naruto cussed out loud, officially done with all the dancing around it.

"I have to dress the wound, Sasuke, stop being a fucking baby! You wanted my help, right?!" he yelled, and he pried Sasuke's arm off him. Sasuke tensed up when Naruto pulled back the material of his shirt quickly, hoping to get it over with. What he was met with was something he'd never imagine, even in his wildest dreams.

There was no wound.

"What…," Naruto scrutinized the sight with troubled focus. Spreading at a snail's pace down his rival's body were orange, flame like markings, traveling across his throbbing shoulder blade. Sasuke let out a shrill, pained cry, and Naruto felt himself grow cold with panic.

The pattern of three comma like inscribes, black as tattoo ink, seemed to pulsate underneath Sasuke's skin, and Sasuke wheezed vehemently, digging his nails into the area like he was attempting to claw it out. Naruto snapped his attention toward Sasuke's desperate lacerations and he acted on reflex, taking Sasuke's quivering hands in his own.

"Sasuke, stop! Fucking stop!"

He desperately held them still, pressing his head against Sasuke's in an effort to draw his focus on him instead of the pain.

He didn't think about it, not when Sasuke's anguished eyes met his and he murmured softly that it was going to be _okay._ Things were going to be fine. But he didn't know what was going on. He'd never seen anything like this before and he'd be damned if this were in any of Sakura's medical books.

Sasuke didn't say anything back. The man stayed focused on his breathing as he bit his lip, most likely suppressing another agonizing scream. Naruto just squeezed his hands tighter, feeling the hours tick by with excruciating slowness.

It would be nearly afternoon when Sasuke finally passed out.


	4. Chapter 4: Fear

**A/N:**

Thanks to Kizukatana for being an amazing proofreader as usual! I love you! And last but not least, huge SHOUT OUT to the amazingly talented TheatricalPlacenta for drawing the scene for this chapter and chapter five! She's on DeviantArt and Tumblr, so please, if you like it as much as I freaking cherish it, drop her a message! You can view the art on Archive of Our own, under the same story name. **  
**

* * *

 **Chapter Four:** Fear is the main source of superstition

* * *

"... Naruto." Sakura rubbed the skin of her forehead between her thumb and index finger. "For the last time, will you stop breathing down my neck and let me work?"

"Sorry, sorry…"

Naruto took a step back from where he was anxiously cuffing her hospital scrubs for the past hour. His eyes roamed across Sasuke's limp form with unhealthy haste, and Sakura figured her friend's fidgeting had something to do with the story he assaulted her with when she came through the door. About flaring markings and supernatural happenings.

The kind of incredible phenomenon that could only happen to a certain obtuse archaeologist she knew.

While she didn't notice anything strange, Sakura did see a man who'd been through an ordeal. She'd had Naruto strip Sasuke of his clothing, satchel, and holsters, giving the doctor a better vantage point to see the full extent of his injuries. Sasuke's body was littered in cuts and bruises, the worst being the stab wound on his leg from a blade that had barely knicked his femoral artery.

She wiped his body down with a washcloth and elevated Sasuke's leg, propping it up on some pillows. It needed to be thoroughly cleaned to reduce the risk of infection, so she carefully scrubbed it down, noticing how Sasuke's face would occasionally twist and turn in discomfort. Once she was sure that she'd effectively cleaned it, she checked for any access dirt or debris.

She applied direct pressure with a different wash cloth to stop the bleeding, and then applied the antiseptic and the gauze. As far as other injuries go, she was sure that Sasuke may have torn one or more of the ligaments on the outside of his ankle, as it rolled inward and was indicative of an inversion sprain. The swelling would go down in a few days, but he needed to stay off his feet for a while.

Then there were his wrists, which were completely torn from the looseness of the joint. Verdant hues took a tentative glance towards his lower half. His knees were badly scraped. Sakura surmised that he'd probably fallen from a considerable height, tried to cushion the impact with his hands, and the force of it bent them back towards his forearms, so she compressed it with a bandage for now before going back to wiping the rest of him down.

Most of the blood he was covered in didn't belong to him.

She didn't relay any of this to Naruto, though, as he was most likely aware of it by now. Besides, he seemed too busy pacing back and forth behind her, muttering obscenities. She stood up from where she'd been bent over the exhausted man's form for an hour and tucked the stethoscope inside her shirt.

Naruto quit moving around, but he was far from quiet as he sat on the adjacent couch and bounced his leg. Sakura rolled her eyes as Naruto chewed on his lip, expectant.

"Make yourself useful, will you?" Sakura sighed. "Bring me some clothes from your room."

"Oh, ehrm. Right." He mumbled distractedly. Naruto left and quickly came back out with a dark blue tee and sweats.

Although she wasn't sure they would fit Sasuke, they would have to do. Sakura motioned for Naruto to help her, guiding the unconscious man into a sitting position so she could pull the shirt over his head.

It was big on him. Figures, since Naruto's chest was a little bit broader. She reached down to dress the man's lower half. Naruto stopped her.

"Ah, don't worry. I got that part." He murmured, embarrassingly.

She smirked. "Naruto, I work in a hospital. I see plenty of penis everyday. This one's like all the rest of them. Just bigger, and attached to someone who's gorgeous."

"I _really_ didn't need to hear that last part." Naruto groaned, and he meant it. It wasn't a surprise that Sasuke was her type. Sasuke was the type that was _anyone's_ type. Naruto frowned some more.

He slipped Sasuke's legs carefully, one by one, into his sweats.

Then tentatively, Naruto cleared his throat.

"What's going on with him?" He asked, his voice serious.

"Well…" Sakura took a deep breath, "...he's hurt. Most of his wounds were manageable, but he has a few torn ligaments from when he fell somewhere, and a stab wound on his leg. Thankfully, it isn't wide or severe enough to need stitches. It just needs time to heal…"

She paused, reaching into her bag and lastly applying a cold compress to Sasuke's forehead.

"...He does, however, have a fever. He's dehydrated, and he probably pushed himself climbing up onto our balcony. That's nothing water, antibiotics, and rest won't cure, so when he wakes up tell him to stay off his feet for a few days."

 _"_ Rest?" Naruto choked on the word. He shook his head viciously, stroking the bridge of his nose. "Sakura, that can't all be it. The bastard stumbles in here, asks for my help— _my help—_ then has a fucking metaphysical meltdown in my living room. There's something going on with him, and it isn't something _rest_ can fix."

She sighed, meeting Naruto's eyes critically. "You know you must have been imagining it, right? You said you were just about to fall asleep when Sasuke came in. You were probably experiencing a hypnagogic hallucination."

"I wasn't!" Naruto groaned, throwing his hands up. He _knew_ what he saw. "Check his neck again! I swear, there was something weird with it!"

"All I see is a tattoo, and _only_ a tattoo." Sakura affirmed, though it was a unique design, it was a design nonetheless.

She traced an amiable finger along the black tomoe's, realizing with a faint flush that this person's skin was even smoother than hers. Sakura cleared her throat, trying not to stare for too long at the handsome man who dropped into their apartment unannounced.

Naruto looked completely defeated. He _felt_ completely defeated.

"Look, I know you're worried…" Sakura started off delicately, noticing how his shoulders slumped, "but he really is fine. He should be okay in a few days."

"You should have seen him, Sakura. The guy is _not fine_." Naruto contended, casting a bothered gaze over Sasuke's worn face. He buried his head in his hands. "This was bad. And I can't explain what I saw without it sounding crazy, but it sure as hell wasn't a normal reaction to being exposed to the elements or some crap like that."

Sakura crossed her arms across her chest, unsure what to say. This wasn't a good look on her idiot, whose face had been constricted with worry this entire time. The usually smiling, dopey numb skull that left ramen cups on their living room floor, and research papers on their kitchen stove, looked like he was about to have a panic attack.

From what Naruto told her, Sasuke had apparently been moaning in agony for hours before she arrived.

"I can check my medical books… but I doubt, I _seriously doubt,_ I will find anything like what you were describing in them." Sakura spoke honestly. "...Besides, these injuries weren't self inflicted. You know that."

Naruto forced a bitter smile, his expression downcast.

"Of course…" He snorted. "Sasuke has the entire Egyptian armed forces crammed up his ass. In just a few years, he's managed to sabotage and raid every site I've ever excavated." As well as others. So Naruto wasn't surprised if Sasuke had run into someone with a grudge, seeing as he'd thought about killing the jerk a few times himself.

Whoever did this to him though, hadn't just been fantasizing. They were serious, and they could have followed him here.

Naruto had been on guard since Sasuke passed out, listening for any indication that someone was outside, watching them. And at the first sign of trouble, he would go on the offensive. He was used to danger. He knew how to defend himself. Kurama sure wouldn't have any trouble either.

"But Sakura… on the off chance that someone is looking for him, I…" Naruto began, completely sober.

"I know, I know." She didn't need to hear the rest. "I'll go visit a friend for a while."

Naruto let out a breath he'd been apparently holding, relieved.

Sakura walked up to him and gently ruffled his hair. She was more than capable of taking care of herself, believe it or not. She couldn't have Naruto of all people worrying about her, though. That was a recipe for disaster and they both knew it.

Packing up her kit, Sakura briefly returned to her room to put it away and get some clothes. She returned to the living room with her overnight bag, noticing Naruto was slumped over Sasuke again, watching him.

"I'll stay at my colleague's house for a while," She spoke softly, piercing the silence. "Doctor Kurenai's having a baby soon, so she could probably use the company."

Naruto nodded, immediately feeling way more relaxed. Sakura flicked Naruto's head from behind. "If anything changes, _call_ me. I know that's a foreign concept to a knuckle brain like you, but try to get that through your thick skull okay?"

"I will, I promise." Naruto assured her. He honestly didn't know what he would have done if Sakura hadn't been around. He only knew the basics of dressing and taking care of a wound, so he was thankful that he lived with a doctor, and even more thankful that she'd been so calm about everything. "Thank you, Sakura… seriously."

She smiled, lightly pecking him on the cheek.

"Just stop worrying so much. You're showing your age."

"I'm only twenty-five." Naruto hedged.

"With those frown lines, you look thirty," she quipped as she headed for the door.

It closed behind her, and Naruto moved to lock it, sliding the bolt in place. His fingers lingered on the metal clasp contemplatively. He was nervous, but not in the usual way he was around Sasuke.

Naruto bit his lip.

For once, he was nervous _for Sasuke,_ because he just couldn't explain what he saw. Sasuke's meltdown was like a scene straight out of the exorcist, and Naruto personally thought that movie sucked, grateful that Sasuke hadn't been levitating and speaking in tongues.

However, images of those markings flaming against Sasuke's skin were as clear in his mind as the other's shrill screams. They weren't… _natural._ Naruto had seen a lot of 'ancient mysteries', and every damn one could be explained by science. Until _this_. And he wasn't lucky enough to have a priest on hand to sprinkle holy water on his furniture. He wasn't fortunate enough to have actress Chris MacNeil around for emotional support.

Naruto frowned, trying to shake away his anxiety.

He was sure he'd figure it out. There had to be some sort of explanation. He'd talk to Sasuke more about it when he woke up.

But that comes a little bit sooner than expected when Naruto turned around, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when he noticed Sasuke standing behind him, peculiarly close and _not resting._

"Sasuke," Naruto placed a hand to his rapidly beating chest, "Holy fuck, you scared me. Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Sasuke said nothing, even when Naruto approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder to steady his swaying form. He not-so-subtly glanced at Sasuke's shoulder, relieved to see that nothing freaky was going on. While he was happy the guy wasn't in a coma (he never thought he'd say that in a million years), there was something _off._ Sasuke was standing there, just _standing there_ with the intensity of an unquenched man, stranded in the desert—a man who just discovered an oasis, reeking of something feverish. _Carnal._ _  
_

"You… uh, feelin' alright?" Naruto would never get used to this; voicing concern for _Sasuke,_ of all people, but he wasn't the type to kick someone when they were down.

"You still don't look so good."

Sasuke inhaled shakily, his movements lazy and sluggish as he tilted his head to the side. He skirted his eyes across Naruto's body and his eyes drooped half-mast.

"Naruto…" he uttered. Naruto didn't miss how Sasuke's tongue flicked against his lower lip. His voice had dropped an octave. "Where were you?"

Naruto swallowed hard, doing his best to ignore the strange atmosphere.

"Right…here?" he replied, confused. He glanced at Sasuke's bandaged legs, his flushed face, and remembered what Sakura said—Sasuke wasn't supposed to be moving around. He was probably delirious.

"Just, ehrm, lay back down, okay?" Naruto chastised. He put an arm around Sasuke's waist to support him as he lead him back towards the couch.

He'd help him onto it then get him an aspirin or something. Kurama was most likely asleep on his comforter—the pampered brat wouldn't move, even if the apartment was on fire-so he'd head into Sakura's room to grab a blanket from her closet.

At least that was the plan.

Naruto's spinning around, and he _knew_ where this was headed when his back hit the sofa.

This wasn't the first time Sasuke had taken him by surprise, but it is the only time Naruto's stopped himself from fighting back. Sakura would _kill_ him if he damaged her patient, especially after she went through the trouble of fixing him, so Naruto tried to remain calm, chalking this up to Sasuke's fever, psychotic break—whatever helped him wrap his head around _why_ Sasuke had placed his hands almost tepidly on his hips.

Naruto chewed on his bottom lip, finding it difficult to voice his alarm with the man's sharpened gaze holding him still. He became even _more_ confused when Sasuke leaned down to gently brush his lips against his collarbone. Naruto visibly shivered.

Pale fingers deftly reached up to grasp a stray strand of blonde hair, gingerly tucking it behind Naruto's ear; and the motion stunned him. It's almost _affectionate, sensuous._ Naruto feels himself become paralyzed, nearly positive that this reached a new level of _not okay._ _  
_  
He should call Sakura. Sasuke was clearly out of his mind.

Naruto glanced at the door, panicked. The jackass was petting his head for crying out loud and if that didn't decree a trip to the emergency room, he didn't know what would.

"Look...u-uh..." Naruto choked, uncomfortably. Sasuke's hands were cupping his face, and what little room separated them before became non existent. Sasuke was a hair's breadth away from touching his lips to his.

Naruto's heart hammered loudly in his ears. While the bastard was a lot quieter than the cocky, smug asshole he knew and hated, Naruto wasn't totally gung-ho about a touchy, possibly amnesic Sasuke either. He tried to form a sentence.

"Sasuke… 'm not sure you remember who I am? Or you wouldn't be doing this _._ This… is weird."

Sasuke murmured something inaudible.

Naruto strained to hear.

Then those same nimble digits from before had traced a line across one of the three, parallel scars on Naruto's skin. Leaving the archaeologist trembling, hot… and absolutely breathless when Sasuke's lips decided to descend on his own.

It was like time stood still.

Sasuke's tongue slid into Naruto's stunned mouth with a sweltering hunger, and he found himself absolutely _powerless_ to stop him _._ He's coaxed into returning it as demanding, rough hands move to tug on golden tufts of hair.

Naruto tried to tell himself that this was _Sasuke_ he was kissing. This was wrong, on so many freaking levels, and _fuck_ if Sakura gets pissed at him later. He should push him off. But he can't.

Sasuke turns out to be just as malevolent and just as _greedy_ as his profession, seeming to take each and every unexplored corner of Naruto's mouth as a challenge to taste as much as he can—and he does. He's relentless _,_ and Naruto found himself quickly being swept away. He's sighing into the kiss before he can think of all the reasons he _shouldn't,_ and Sasuke's hands trailed down his chest, tugging up his shirt.

Naruto's head is fucking spinning when Sasuke's hot mouth moved feverishly down his jaw. His _throat._ Sasuke pushes up his shirt and he's planted an open mouthed kiss on his stomach, sucking so hard on the skin Naruto could feel it _bruise._ He gasped softly. _  
__  
_"It's been so long..." Sasuke murmured into his skin, and his words sound slurred. Naruto's heart is pounding. "I knew I'd see you again… _Awh ibekeh, imi-hib merwet._ _"_ _  
__  
_Naruto's effectively snapped out of it, peering down at Sasuke with wide eyes.

"Wha…?" What did he say? Sasuke wasn't speaking Arabic. It's not even in an language Naruto can understand. But he recognized the dialect. Ancient Egyptian writing didn't record vowels, but their were some who'd attempted to mimic the language. He'd taken a few classes on it where his professors would take a stab at simulating the phonetics.

Naruto's disoriented. Nothing was making sense. He barely registered what Sasuke said to him next, but he does pick up on Sasuke's hand sliding across his hip to _palm_ at his crotch; and he doesn't need an interpreter to know where this is going. He furiously blushed when he realized _exactly_ why his pants were being shimmied down his hips.

"Get the _fuck_ off me, bastard!" He shrilled, ramming his forehead into Sasuke's and knocking him backwards. Sasuke's hands flew up to his face to cradle it painfully.

Naruto was too focused on his own ragged breathing to offer any sympathy, not when he'd almost been molested here. His nerves were electric charged and sparking all over the place. And he wondered what Sasuke was going to do next. Would he suddenly starting crawling backwards on his hands and feet? Should he call the local mosque? Synagogue? Did he need to invest in a cross and some rosary beads?

Naruto got his answer when instead of seeing Sasuke's eyes roll back into his head, he heard the familiar nickname hissed savagely from Sasuke's lips.

"What was that for, you _idiot?"_ Sasuke rubbed the bridge of his nose. Naruto sputtered, thinking the answer should be glaringly obvious.

"You had your hands all over me!" He accused, flailing his arms. "W-What the hell's the matter with you, huh?! Just because you're injured doesn't mean I'll be nursing you back to health with my dick!"

Sasuke's eyes blew wide. His lips curved into a disbelieving sneer, like Naruto was obviously the crazy one. Then he looked down at his clothes. A vein in Sasuke's temple throbbed when he realized he was dressed in the other man's night wear.

"You undressed me?" Sasuke spat. "What? Are you trying to project your fantasies onto me? If you want me to feel better, moron, you would let me cut your dick _off._ I wouldn't lay a finger on you."

Naruto couldn't fucking believe it.

"Projecting?!" He gaped. "You were the one on top of me just now! You were touching _me_!"

"I was _asleep_ until you decided to knock that empty head of yours into mine. Don't pretend to be ignorant, Naruto, it's not suiting you today."

"Don't tell me you don't remember, Sasuke, it was literally a minute ago," Naruto growled. "You were just kissing me for crying out loud!" And he'd liked it, but he was trying to block that out. Naruto was vainly trying to convince himself that he'd caught a case of Sasuke's obvious hysteria.

" _Kissing you?"_ Sasuke scowled, looking back at Naruto like he'd sprouted wings and was about to take off. It was said with so much bile Naruto almost felt offended. "You really are an idiot if you ever think that would happen. Is this your way of trying to tell me something, _Naruto?"_ _  
_  
Naruto flushed, struggling with a decent comeback. He was on the verge of screaming since one moment Sasuke's reenacting a scene out of a Friedkin movie, and the next the bastard's trying to suck his face off while whispering in a lost language.

This just didn't make any sense.

"You were babbling gibberish." Naruto said earnestly, forcefully. Sasuke lifted an elegant eyebrow, visibly perturbed by his insistence . "Just a few minutes ago you…"

Had been touching him. A _lot._ But the more Naruto looked at the other, the more he realized Sasuke actually had _no clue_ what he was talking about, and he didn't know what to say. Naruto had heard of sleepwalking, but was sleep _groping_ a thing? Maybe he should ask Sakura if rambling in Ancient Egyptian was a side effect of painkillers.

Naruto tried to compose himself, ignoring the tingling of his lips due to Sasuke's more than thorough appreciation of them earlier. Sasuke simply grimaced, not exactly sure what Naruto was trying to suggest but feeling like maybe there was some truth in Naruto's conspicuous fidgeting. Somewhere.

"Ookay…" Naruto said, choosing to figure this out slowly. Piece by piece. For now, he would start from the beginning. He shakily ran his hand through his hair. " _Look,_ what do you remember?"

"I remember waking up to your idiotic screaming." Sasuke deadpanned, wiping his sweaty forehead with a clammy hand. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I mean before that."

Sasuke paused, his mouth twisting into a visibly pained frown.

"I remember coming here to get away."

Now they were getting somewhere.

"To get away?" Naruto echoed. He did little to hide the disbelief in his voice. "You sure picked an interesting place to hide, Sasuke. I never thought your first instinct would be to run to me." Sasuke was looking much more controlled than earlier, but still particularly pale; and at that last statement he averted his eyes, his scowl only deepening. He wasn't proud of the reality of their situation either, and he made it known when he angrily focused his attentions on the carpet.

Naruto sat on the couch adjacent to his, folding his arms across his chest.

"Who were you trying to get away from?"

"We don't need to discuss this now." Sasuke responded sharply, looking away. Naruto felt his chest bubble with anger. After everything he's been through, he wasn't just going to let Sasuke hold out on him. He _needed_ to know what was going on and he needed to know _now._

"Don't pull that crap with me Sasuke," Naruto growled, leaning forward. "Usually when you come find me, it's to steal my shit. This time, you came in here and fucking bled all over my rug. The least you can do is spill it."

Sasuke did ask for his help, after all. He didn't just get to decide to change his mind. That's not how this worked.

Tapping his finger against his knee in a show of impatience, Naruto waited. Sasuke seemed to deliberate for a moment, not particularly feeling threatened by the others aggravation but not exactly unmoved either. He eventually surrendered, meeting Naruto's eyes.

"I received a request over a month ago from a man named Kabuto Yakushi..." Sasuke started, his voice steely. "...he wanted me specifically and offered fifty-thousand pounds to retrieve an artifact from a specified location. It was the dagger."

Naruto didn't bother to mask how his eyes naturally flared with anger at the mention of it.

"Retrieve? You mean to _steal,_ right?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He noticed Naruto's fuming, but elected not to comment on it. It was only natural that he held animosity towards him for what he did in Awrutshimaru's tomb. Sasuke leaned back where he sat, still not the least bit apologetic, which only served to piss Naruto off more.

"Naturally, you were already involved, and ended up doing most of the work for me, dobe."

"I'm not here to listen to you gloat." Naruto bristled, kind of itching to deck Sasuke across the face, Sakura's hard work be damned. "If you can't tell a story without being an asshole..." he trailed off, the warning in his voice clear.

"Fine. After I retrieved it…"

" _Stole it."_ Naruto corrected.

 _"Whatever,"_ Sasuke sneered. "He scheduled to meet with him a week ago in Zamalek to make the trade off. It was supposed to only take a few minutes."

"Then what happened?" Naruto grumbled harshly, his tongue dripping acid. "Didn't get everything you asked for?"

"Actually, I got _more_ than I'd asked for," Sasuke muttered. Naruto was asking him stupid questions when it should be clear that things had _not gone as planned._

Naruto was beginning to regret pressing the subject, starting to wish he'd never sheltered the thieving jerk in the first place. He found himself growing more and more agitated over the image of Sasuke, casually handing something that precious off in some shady business deal, then showing up at his place to bitch when things had gone wrong.

Sasuke's eyes only darkened, his demeanor shifting into something more malignant. More lethal.

"He failed to mention that he planned to use me for more than just retrieving the artifact..."

Naruto blinked rapidly, wondering if he heard that right.

"What?" he balked.

Sasuke's expression was tense and guarded, but there was a hesitancy about it as well. Almost as though he wasn't exactly convinced himself about what was happening. He grimaced as his fingers lightly brushed against the flesh of his neck, pressing down on the inky black insignia's that appeared just over a couple of hours ago.

"Look, he knocked me out. But when I came to it had already been a few days, I was bleeding, and the dagger was in my hand. I don't remember anything else... _he did something_ to me. I need to know what it is. Are you going to help me or not?"

Naruto held up a hand, silently scrutinizing Sasuke's request with narrowed, cerulean orbs; since it was hard to believe that Sasuke, the bane of his existence, was begging for his help. When he imagined this day, it was way more gratifying—with his foot on Sasuke's back, and the others wrists cuffed together as he cheerfully delivered him to the authorities, laughing all the way.

He needed a good minute to let this sink in, and probably an eternity to actually believe it before he leaned forward, rubbing the back of his head in a show of incredulity. Because even with the reality of the situation laid so deliciously in front of him, the man still couldn't wrap his head around one little, unsatisfying thing. Something that was bugging him from the start.

What could Sasuke possibly want from him, besides shelter? He wasn't going to give the bastard sympathy, obviously, since he sort of brought this kind of thing on himself. And there wasn't much he could do for him about what happened during the exchange besides suggest he go to the police—something Sasuke would never do, not in a million years. So then what?

"I did help you, didn't I?" Naruto asked, confused, not entirely sure what Sasuke was asking. "My friend Sakura dressed your wounds. She said you'd be fine in a few days if you stay off your feet."

"That's not what I meant. If all I needed was medical treatment, I could have gone to a hospital, dumb ass," Sasuke reiterated forcefully, and he looked exasperated. _Reluctant._ Like Naruto's lack of comprehension was forcing him to divulge something torturous. "He did something... _else_ … "

"Something else? Sakura _checked everywhere._ " Naruto reassured him, frowning hard remembering just _how_ thoroughly Sakura had checked him. "Trust me, she's thorough when it comes to patients and she never does anything half-assed. She's a doctor at the hospital nearby. One of the best, so I doubt there's anything else wrong with..."

Sasuke felt his patience snapping, unable to believe that the idiot was _this dense._ He angrily grabbed the hideously styled tee that he'd been dressed in, tugging it forcefully down so it exposed his collarbone. Naruto suddenly stopped mid sentence, taking in the sight of Sasuke's mortified face. It was a strange look on him, to see him so _flustered?_

"So tell me, Naruto. Does this look like any kind of _normal_ wound to you? Did your doctor friend have an answer for _this?_ "

Naruto swallowed thickly, remembering exactly what Sakura had told him when he'd shown her the same spot on Sasuke's skin. A tattoo, she'd called it. A hypnagogic hallucination at best. He opened his mouth, offering a logical reply but finding it difficult to come up with one. He closed his mouth, his own frown deepening as Sasuke glared at him.

"Yeah. That's what I figured. I don't need _medical_ help." Sasuke looked angry and lost, and Naruto wasn't sure what to make of what Sasuke was trying to say. Or at least, he was trying to avoid coming to same conclusion himself. Because that kind of thing was crazy—crazier than Sasuke coming onto him earlier.

 _"That means you know about curses…"_ Sasuke's strained voice from earlier echoed in his ears, and Naruto's lips twitched into a cagey smile, suddenly realizing where this was going as the light-bulb went off in his head. He chuckled nervously, giving Sasuke a leery look.

"Sasuke…" He said quizzically, a tinge of humor lacing his tone. "You're not… actually trying to tell me that you think you're cursed, right?"

Sasuke's jaw clenched. He was _not_ going to say it out-loud again.

Naruto's smile only grew as he realized that _yes,_ that is exactly what Sasuke was trying to say, and he outright laughed in his face. It echoed against the walls as Naruto slapped his knee, only losing it more when Sasuke's face flushed an unusual shade of pink when he rose from his chair.

"Y-You, hahaha, actually believe you're _cursed?!"_ Naruto snorted, doubling over. "I could have never pegged you as the kind of guy who believed in that sort of crap. Guilty conscience gettin' to you Sasuke?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed to slits, looking absolutely murderous. Naruto thought any moment now he was going to get up and strangle him. But he didn't get the chance.

They both simultaneously turned at the sound of a window shattering. Kurama started barking from where he was pent up in Naruto's bedroom, and Naruto felt his blood turn to ice as footsteps that weren't his own tapered across his carpeted floor, slamming a door shut.

Then their was a high pitched whine of pain and Kurama grew silent.

Naruto ran towards it.


	5. Chapter 5: Count your Curses

**A/N:**

If you haven't seen it already, the amazing artist Theatrical Placenta has been drawing scenes for this fic. I'm super blessed to have received art from her, and even more so, to have spoken to her and become close to her in such a short amount of time! She's an amazing person.

As always, a huge thanks to Kizukatana for Beta-ing my work. She helps me breathe.

Important Note: A lot of people have been asking what it is Sasuke has said in Egyptian for Chapter's 4, and Chapter's 5. Please visit my word press and I will explain things in a little bit more detail as to why I haven't translated it, and what it means to those who are curious. Sasuke speaking in this language, where it's hard for Naruto and the reader to understand, is purposeful.

* * *

 **Chapter Five:** Count your curses

* * *

Kurama's whimpering was faint, but Naruto could still hear it as he pressed himself flat against the wall, scrupulously listening for any more movement inside his bedroom. He could make out the sound of someone rummaging through his drawers, moving his things, and he held his breath, realizing his worst fears seemed to be coming true.

Someone had followed Sasuke—and like the injured bastard who'd been lying on his couch—they didn't like to use the front door, either.

Naruto frowned, listening as another drawer slammed and a new one was opened. His intruder obviously hadn't shown up to gaze at Naruto's spectacular variety of animal boxer briefs. That he knew for sure. They were looking for something, and Naruto had a few good guesses as to what that something could be.

 _"I need your help…"_

They were after the dagger.

And possibly, they were still after Sasuke.

Naruto furrowed his brows together as he heard Kurama whine softly. Whatever it was, his nerves were jumping. While it was obvious that his dog was injured, at least he seemed to be alive—and that alleviated some of his fears as he reached into the waistband of his pants, pulling out his knife and holding it with practiced ease in his right hand.

He tried to stop his palms from shaking. Naruto had learned Jujutsu from his ass-kicking mother when he was five, after all, and his father trained him in Aikido when he was seven. So he was prepared for home invasions. Besides, years of fighting Sasuke in crumbling caverns and collapsing bridges made him used to surprises, and if Naruto counted the times he'd spar with Neji when he was growing up, he could say he'd had a lot of experience in close combat.

But he realized it wasn't his marital abilities that were making him nervous. It was Kurama's safety, and Naruto wasn't sure what he would see on the other side of that door.

He placed his other hand on the handle, licking his lips, hoping to sneak up on them—whoever _they_ were. But a few moments of eerie silence, save for a howl that made his stomach church, had him turning the handle and rushing into his bedroom before he could even think of a game plan.

"Hey, asshole! What do you think you're...!?" Naruto screamed as he burst inside, ready to either kick ass or haul ass. The rest of the words died in his throat.

Because instead of being met with a fist in his face or some psycho holding a gun to his head, he was looking at a near empty room.

"What the…?" Naruto breathed harshly. He momentarily put the knife away, confused.

Another whimper sounded from the far corner of his room.

When Naruto finally squared in on a small form, cowering near his bed stand, his heart sank. Kurama's paws were bloody, and his mouth was covered in the same substance. When the mutt noticed him, his anxious expression shifted into that of an irate tyrants who'd been kept waiting too long. Naruto hedged a comforting smile, his chest clenching painfully. He never thought seeing Kurama's ugly mug would have made him feel so much relief.

"There you are…" Naruto murmured, his tense shoulders drooping.

He quickly crossed the room and hopped over his bed. He fell to his knees and picked Kurama up, cradling him in his hands. Kurama whimpered almost indignantly, his ears laying flat against his head.

"You-," Naruto exhaled sharply, burying his face in Kurama's fur, "scared the absolute crap out of me, seriously."

Kurama made a noise in the back of his throat, the kind of familiar, annoyed huff, that signified Naruto was right to fuss and fret over him because _what other purpose did Naruto have_ ; and that made him smile even more. As much as he moaned about him, Kurama was family. His dog had been in his life for twelve years, even outlasting his parents. If anything had happened to him…

Naruto pulled away, worriedly examining the schipperke's quivering form. When he ran a hand against Kurama's side the animal flinched. It looked like he was bruised there. He didn't see any open wounds, but it was obvious Kurama had gotten into a scuffle with his intruder.

Naruto swiped a thumb against the sanguine fluid around Kurama's mouth and brought it up to eye level.

It wasn't Kurama's blood.

Naruto grinned. "Gave them hell, didn't you?"

Kurama's mouth seemed to twitch upward with pride.

Naruto flicked his nose, hugging him gently when a sudden breeze filtered into the room. The wind softly tousled blonde tufts of hair away from his eyes, and Naruto looked up from where he'd been bent to assess Kurama's injuries, watching the bedroom window dubiously. He realized two things. The first was that his window was broken, which would explain the crash he heard earlier, and second was... there were blood stains on his carpet… leading behind him, to his bedroom closet.

Naruto's veins turned to ice.

His visitor hadn't left like he'd thought, and he knew exactly where they were hiding.

Kurama barked. His ears perked up straight as he growled over Naruto's' shoulder. He was exhibiting the same kind of rigid behavior he'd witnessed earlier when Sasuke arrived—so Naruto stood up with Kurama in his arms, turned around and placed him on the bed. He'd only realized what a great call he made when his closet door swung open, feet rushed toward him, and a foot flexed out to meet his stomach.

Naruto cussed and sidestepped on instinct.

He spun around to catch a soft chuckle and even softer hands reaching for him. The wrist of a woman, dressed in a faience beaded fish-net top and tight, black shorts, wriggled in his grip. Her left leg was bleeding from where Kurama had sunk his teeth into her, and she smiled blindingly at him, her violet hair and white teeth flashing with excess enthusiasm.

"Nice reflexes, kid." The stranger said, laughing as Kurama snapped his jaws at her from the mattress.

"You almost made me tear up in there," she cocked her head towards the closet, "...with that little display of yours. But that little guy almost ripped my leg off, so if you don't mind, he and I have some unfinished business."

Naruto's lips curved upward, nothing but firm praise lacing his voice.

"Did you do that, Kurama?" he said, with not a trace of genuine reprimand. "Good boy."

She clicked her teeth. With a violent nudge she twisted her wrist out of his hold and jumped back. Naruto knew what was going to happen so he steeled himself, pushing his legs apart. Kurama took a similar stance, ready to pounce.

"Tell me," Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What the hell do you want?"

"Huh?" She blinked, lazily, "you don't even wanna know my name? That's rude."

She huffed, and Naruto watched her critically as she pulled out a combat knife, similar to his own. Naruto also reached for his, extending it towards her. She whistled, impressed.

"Well, I'll tell you anyways. One of us has to have some manners, you know?" She cocked her head, grinning wildly. "My name's Anko… yours?"

"Naruto," he said roughly.

"Strange name," Anko mused, shrugging her shoulders. She took a step towards him and Naruto instinctively stepped back.

"Well, Naruto, I thought you should know the name of the person who's going to kill you. Now that those awkward introductions are over…"

She pointed the knife towards him, her eyes a-lit with excitement.

"...Let's begin."

* * *

The room was still spinning.

The ground was still shaking beneath him.

Sasuke stood up from the couch to follow Naruto, but his legs kept caving in.

He strained to hear the Naruto rushing into his bedroom because his ears were flooded with white noise. Ever since he woke up to Naruto's grating voice and flailing arms, he'd felt strange and disoriented. Like all the strength had been sucked out of him and replaced with something immeasurably more nocuous and heavy.

His skin held an unpleasant tingle to it. The nausea that swept over him was dizzying; and Sasuke gingerly touched the spot on his neck, rubbing the skin where the mark had appeared from earlier.

He didn't remember anything else.

Sasuke sighed, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling. He didn't want to think that this was karma, but Naruto's past ramblings about him getting what he deserved were replaying over and over again in his head like a broken record. He knew trouble would follow his line of work, but he'd never imagined it would involve him scrambling to Naruto of all people for help.

He drew in a shaky breath, running a hand through his hair.

Sasuke had realized that something wasn't right the moment he'd met Kabuto in person.

The buyer, half-concealed in a head wrap, held an air about him that reeked of deviousness. And while Sasuke didn't care about whatever debased intentions his clients had for the pieces he'd acquire, he didn't particularly feel comfortable with the man's crooked smirk and unhinged irises devouring the sight of him like he was the prized possession.

* * *

 _"It's nice to finally meet you in person, Sasuke…"_

 _Sasuke gave a curt nod as his eyes swept across the alleyway._

 _The moon was high in the sky, and a hot breeze dusted against his cheek, courtesy of the khamaseen blowing from the south. He stepped out of the shadows and into the light. Bits of sand crackled beneath his feet when he took a step forward, and Sasuke kept one hand planted firmly on the holster of his gun, while the other reached into his satchel to pull out the dagger._

 _The artifact was conspicuously wrapped in fabric and he held it out, cocking his head expectantly._

 _"The money first," he twisted his mouth into a deep scowl. "Once I see that everything's there, I'll give it to you."_

 _Kabuto smiled, his voice airy and light. "Well, of course, how could I forget?"_

 _There was something in this man's body language that unnerved him. Sasuke couldn't help but scrutinize the figure as he rounded on Sasuke's form for the umpteenth time, his onyx eyes piercing him through ash-grey tufts of hair._

 _"No tricks." Sasuke warned him, his expression dark and conveying exactly what would happen if something went wrong with their proceedings. At the first sign of him being cheated, he would leave. This wasn't the first time he'd met a client in a back alley, and he knew it wouldn't be his last. He would stay on guard._

 _Kabuto chuckled softly, as if in agreement, and pulled out the briefcase that was placed behind him. He laid it flat on the ground. It was a black ostrich case, lined in fine tan suede. He gestured casually for Sasuke to bend over and assess it. Sasuke walked towards it but stopped in his tracks, hesitating._

 _"Open it yourself," he ordered, narrowing his eyes._

 _Kabuto smirked and bent down._

 _"You're a cautious one, aren't you?" he practically purred. Sasuke made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat, intently watching as the man unlatched the clasps and the suitcase opened to reveal banknotes, neatly stacked in rows. Kabuto lightly brushed his fingers along a wad of them, as if enticing Sasuke to touch them himself to confirm their authenticity._

 _Sasuke greedily drank in the sight, but tried not to seem too eager as he hunched over it to count as much as he could in his head. He'd asked for fifty-thousands pounds. It looked like what he asked for, maybe even more. But he didn't want to waste time counting each note in his hand, in the open no less, so he would have to take his client's word for it._

 _In any case, if the pounds were counterfeit he would hunt this man down until he received his payment, and the added interest for wasting his time._

 _"Are you satisfied?" Kabuto asked._

 _"Hn…" Sasuke acquiesced, closing the case. He picked it up before moving forward to place the dagger in Kabuto's waiting palms. Kabuto clenched his fingers around it possessively, face contorting almost maniacally with glee._

 _"Thank you for your business, Sasuke…"_

 _A shadow overlapped his._  
 _  
"It was well worth the price."_

 _A blunt object hit him from behind._

* * *

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he remembered crazed laughter, echoing around him until he faded from consciousness. He could feel that pain from earlier begin to bloom on the same patch of flesh as before, so he pinched the skin between his fingers, silently urging it to go away.

The more he tried to ignore it though, the more intense it grew. It was almost scathing as he rubbed it viciously with his palm. Sasuke was soon bent over and retching pitifully onto Naruto's carpet by the time the vicious pang started to jerk his insides, causing a horrible cough to wrack his frame.

 _"...Hngh!"_ Sasuke bit his cheek, crumbling to the floor on his hands and knees.

He held back another scream, painfully scrunching his eyes closed.

His body was burning. Burning, burning, _burning._

Whatever that lunatic did to him, he knew it wasn't normal or simple—which is probably why he sought out Naruto, who was by no means either of the two.

Sasuke bit his cheek, panting harshly as the mark singed him and acid expelled itself through his mouth once more. He didn't… have any other option. Naruto was the only one he knew that wouldn't turn him away. The insufferable idiot who embattled him and challenged his principles, or lack thereof, was the only one that would _genuinely_ take him seriously.

Because Naruto was noble and nauseatingly just; a trait Sasuke both despised and was drawn to, in that moment.

 _"Y-You, hahaha, actually believe you're cursed?!"_

Sasuke dug his nails into the floor. He focused on breathing through his nose, trying to still his shaking hands and the twitching urge to claw at his skin until it bled. It was _hard._ He didn't know what the fuck was wrong with him, but he was itching to find out. Literally _itching._

In the distance, Sasuke could vaguely hear the sound of a crash echoing in the hallway. A door fell to the ground with a god-awful crack.

"Sasuke!" he heard Naruto shout. The blond barreled into the living room with about as much grace as a narcoleptic camel, and Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows together at the sight. Kurama limped to his side, snarling at the direction they came from before collapsing in a small heap on the floor. They were both covered in cuts and bruises.

 _"_ _Eh-bhen mahratesh!_ _Iwa-asem!"_

"What?" Sasuke asked, his eyes wide. He knitted his brows together in annoyance, his migraine starting to become a full on cluster headache. His vision was swarming again. Naruto was fading into some obscure image. He could barely make out his face anymore, but he seemed to be peering down at him anxiously. "What's… your problem? Why are...you talking like...?"

Naruto shook Sasuke by the shoulders, expression contorted with desperation.

"Speak gibberish some other time, okay bastard? We have to go!" Naruto tried lifting him up by his shoulders. Sasuke stared, disoriented, as he fell back down.

He hadn't been the one demonstrating his multilingual skills. It was Naruto who…

Sasuke gritted his teeth, his train of thought cutting off.

He couldn't move his arms or legs, all of a sudden.

"Nu-uh, uh." A female voice taunted from a distance. Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin when a knife sheathed itself in the wall, just an inch or two away from his ear.

He pushed Sasuke back, flat on the floor, and whipped around to catch Anko swinging her blade at him. The collision chafed Naruto's own weapon with a deafening clang. Naruto spun around and swiped at her side, but she dodged back and knocked him on his rear with her foot.

"Fuck!" Naruto swore. He scrambled to a stand and swiftly sidestepped when she made a jab for his jugular. Instead, Anko ended up nicking Naruto's cheek, and he gasped sharply, taking the chance to grab her wrist. With his obscured vision, Sasuke could barely make out the women's violet hair, whipping about as she licked the tip of her blade. It was coated in Naruto's blood.

"So _there's_ Uchiha…" She grinned. Naruto swung at her reflexively, desperation sinking in as every attempt to land a blow was blocked by her forearms. He'd never faced someone like this before. This woman was _trained,_ and Naruto felt that confidence from before wane as anxiety set in. He needed to think of something, fast.

Jumping back, Anko cocked her head in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke swallowed thickly, closing himself off. He didn't let allow himself to seem as alarmed as he felt. He tried to focus on moving his limbs, which were paralyzed with a pain that he could only describe as knives puncturing his skin. Naruto held up his arms in front of Sasuke, protectively.

"Guess I came through the wrong window, huh?" Anko sneered.

"What do you want with him?" Naruto growled. Anko ran her tongue along the edge of the blade until the red substance was gone. She seemed to relish in the taste of Naruto on her tongue, swirling the fluid in her mouth contemplatively.

"This isn't about what I want," she said with a pleasant sigh, swallowing. "... I couldn't care less about either of you. Though… I have always been partial to blonds. Unfortunately, I'm just here to do my job this time."

Sasuke met her coy expression with a resentful one, trying and failing miserably to stand up. She waved at him.

"Hey there! Do ya remember me?"

Sasuke mustered up the strength to shake his head. His skin was pulsing again.

"I've never seen you before," he replied, as coldly as he could without it sounding strained. "Am I supposed to know you?"

"In a way," Anko replied, and this time she had the decency to look perturbed about the whole situation. "Let's just say you really gave me a run for my money. That Kabuto guy paid me to bring you to him after you escaped, but you really put up a fuss, what with almost killing me and all."

Sasuke blinked, not sure if he had heard that right.

"Almost what?" Naruto echoed her words back, glaring at Sasuke like he'd purposefully left something that important out of the narrative. Sasuke returned the look with one that was equally dirty.

"I have no idea," he said, his voice hard and steely. "She's making it up… I've never met this woman before."

Anko clicked her tongue, as if disappointed.

"Amnesia, huh?" She snorted. "Well that's fine— _he_ told me that would happen, and he never said you had to be cognizant or anything for the ritual to work. It's already started, after all. Conscious or not, you're coming with me."

Anko smiled brightly, dropping the knife all together before she lunged for Naruto with her bare hands. Her fingers met his throat, and Naruto groaned as he was forced backwards onto the floor. He turned his head from side to side, trying to absorb some of the pressure from the choke-hold so it wasn't directly on his windpipe. He was _not_ going to die in his apartment, asphyxiated to death by a freaky woman in fishnets.

Fiercely, Naruto tried to knee her in the stomach or anywhere else so he could get her to let go. Sasuke ground his teeth together in frustration, trying to get his body to move.

Obsidian orbs centered on a glass cup to the side of him, a drink Naruto probably had placed on the coffee table when he'd been passed out. Although he could barely reach up to grasp it, it was worth a shot.

"You really are cute," Anko frowned with just a hint of sincerity. She dipped her head down so their foreheads were touching, and to Naruto's horror, she licked a stripe up his scarred cheek. "But I'm sorry, kid. It was nice knowing you."

Sasuke's fingers loosely gripped the handle of the cup.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, the warning clear in his voice. Naruto closed his eyes, turned as much as he could, and Sasuke swung the glass back with impressive force. It flew through the air and shattered against Anko's head.

She let out an ear piercing scream.

"Shit…!" Naruto breathed, thankful that he could. His chest heaved as he pried her clammy, well-manicured hands away from his throat. For once he was grateful Sasuke was around. He never thought he'd think that in his lifetime. "Fuck, _fuck._ Sasuke, here!"

Naruto stood and quickly crossed the room. He grabbed Sasuke's satchel and holsters from the pile of tattered clothes Sakura had put away and tossed them to him. Sasuke caught it, quickly pulling out a gun, which was fully loaded, from one of the holsters and aiming it towards the women as she held her throbbing head.

Without a second's pause, he pulled the trigger.

Anko rolled out of the way to dodge the bullet, but she still hissed as it grazed her thigh. She pushed up from the floor, her face covered in blood. Although Sasuke's hands weren't listening to him like any other day, he tried to wobble upright so he could perfect his aim. Sasuke cussed low in his throat when Anko moved towards Naruto, pulling the trigger.

The second shot was nearly better, just a hair's breadth away from her throat; but it whizzed past her and hit a decorative mask that was hanging on the wall behind Naruto.

Naruto's mouth nearly dropped to the floor.

"Sasuke, you bastard!" He shrilled, on the verge of exploding. The archaeologist nearly forgot the assassin that was rushing towards him, too focused on the important piece of history that now—tortuously enough—had a hole in it.

Naruto ducked as Anko delivered a roundhouse kick, expletives spilling from his lips in a rage. "That was an friggin' thirteenth century _kabuki_ _,_ Sasuke! My dad passed that onto me, do you know how valuable that is?! Dammit!"

"Hn. I thought you didn't keep any artifacts in your apartment."

"Why, you...!"

Sasuke was going to _literally_ pay for that.

"Maybe if it was in a museum, _Naruto_ , it wouldn't have been caught in the crossfire." Sasuke sneered, relishing in how Naruto's face flushed with anger at his own words being used against him.

Sirens began to sound out in the distance.

Sasuke shot at the woman again, but this time he executed the shot with all the practice and precision he'd mastered over the years, causing the bullet to tear through her arm. Anko screamed, _murderously._ The gut wrenching shriek was definitely heard by his neighbors, and Naruto figured that they were the ones who'd called the cops, seeing as he could identify the flashing lights of a police vehicle reflecting against the walls of his living room.

"Naruto! Sakura, are you alright in there?" A baritone voice called from outside. Someone pounded heavily on his door.

Naruto recognized that the voice belonged to Maito Gai from the unit underneath his. He glanced between the two people in his apartment, pursing his lips.

Kurama was still on the floor, breathing heavily, and Sasuke—an infamous grave robber the authorities would be happy to put away—was holding a gun in his hand, on the verge of passing out. There was a big breasted, almost half-naked women in his apartment who'd tried to kill him, and he'd just witnessed damage to an over a thousand year old artifact in his own living room. This situation was far from alright.

"U-Uh, yeah! I am. Just give me a second!" Naruto lied. As much as he'd love to tell his neighbor and the authorities exactly what was going on, it was at the risk of Sasuke getting questioned and locked up too.

Sasuke cocked his revolver, more than happy to use it again in spite of the circumstances. Naruto held up a hand, silently begging him to _not_ destroy another thing that he loved.

"Get out." Naruto commanded as he faced Anko, his eyes hard. "Either get out, or Sasuke puts you out. What's it gonna be?"

Anko glared at the two of them, enraged. That is, until her face suddenly softened. The change in the air was palpable as she applied pressure with her hand to the wound, inching toward the screen door that led to the balcony with the finesse of an uninjured woman. It was disturbing to watch.

"You both know this isn't the end, right?" Sasuke tracked her movements with his revolver, his jaw clenched. Anko smiled dementedly, staring Sasuke dead in the eyes. "I won't be back. But others will. I'm not the only one who was hired to take you in, Uchiha... "

She gripped the glass pane, smearing her blood against it purposefully.

"And when the conversion is finally finished… Heh, you're both going to wish I killed you."

She disappeared without another word.


	6. Chapter 6: Weighing the truth

**A/N:**

I'm posting this chapter completely Un-Beta'd, so if they're a bunch of mistakes I am SO sorry. I just didn't want to keep anyone else waiting.

* * *

 **Chapter Six:** Weighing the truth

* * *

When it came to lying, Naruto was no stranger.

Years of practice on the members of the Hyuga household had cultivated a certain finesse in the art of little white lies.

From explaining why their was sand in his boxers when he was sixteen, to occasionally posing as a certified archaeologist until he actually became one, Naruto was as adept at stretching the truth as he was at uncovering it. However, the word vomit spewing from his lips would gladly indicate otherwise, since he was sinking here.

The officer was sporting his usual attire, consistent of a white cotton bush jacket and pants, posturing lazily against the living room wall. On top of his head rested a black beret, and as he glanced around the wreckage in Naruto's apartment, he opted to take it off in silent reproach.

"And that's what happened, Shikamaru. Hilarious, right?" Naruto finished nervously, chuckling at the familiar man whose brown eyes were narrowed with obvious incredulity.

Tucking the beret under his arm, Shikamaru reached into his pocket to pull out a carton of cigs, placing the cancer stick between his lips. With only a flick of his index finger, Naruto was pulling out his lighter for the officer and the man hummed appreciatively. It wasn't a bribe, per say, but a tentative gesture of goodwill. Shikamaru deeply inhaled the tobacco smoke.

"Ever heard of a, uh, hypnagogic hallucination?" Naruto continued, and Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow, indicative of yes. "I was having one of those, yanno? Except when I woke up, I imagined someone broke in and ehrm… ended up… shooting a few holes in the wall..."

Shikamaru sighed. Familiarity with the archaeologists shenanigan's made his tone a little less admonishing as he frowned, appearing as uninspired and overtaxed as he felt.

"Jeez, this isn't the first time I've gotten a noise complaint, Naruto," Shikamaru murmured, shifting his stance. He took another long drag, blowing out through his nose. "And I know it isn't going to be my last… but I wasn't expecting _this_." He gestured vaguely around the room, mostly zoning in on the cracked kabuki mask.

"You never last time I was called over here was about a six months ago, when a neighbor caught a glimpse of a rotting head in your apartment. Hah.. will you ever give me a break?"

"Oh! The New Kingdom women, Hatshepsut? That was the first time I'd ever found a three-thousand year old skull with dirt in its brain," Naruto recalled with fondness, his eyes lighting up. "I just kind of got excited and ended up taking her home first instead of to the museum. I still can't believe you almost arrested me!"

"It looked fresh." Shikamaru added.

"It was just _really_ well preserved." Naruto countered, already grinning just from remembering how slimy it was, as if it was just undergoing the effects of rigor-mortis. Shikamaru glanced at the carpet stains and at the not so subtle red smear by the patio entrance, exhaling through his nose. Shikamaru was used to coming here. After several phone calls over the years regarding Naruto's many interesting eccentricities, he thought he'd have an inkling of what to expect. But there was always something new.

"All the blood?" Shikamaru inquired, cutting straight to the chase.

Naruto stretched his mouth into a smile, too wide for his face. Shikamaru stared on, impervious to the war going on in Naruto's head as he rummaged his brain for viable excuses.

"When the bullet ricocheted off one of my artifacts, it hit me in the thigh. I uh, have it wrapped up, if you wanna take a look at it." Naruto offered, sparing the minor detail that the gunshot wound on his thigh was actually from another situation entirely. Shikamaru folded his arms across his chest, unimpressed.

"How about the broken window in your room?" He pressed.

"Also an accident."

"Your cuts and bruises?"

"Happened on my recent trip to Cairo." Naruto said, shrugging his shoulders to appear hopelessly undexterous.

"And the high pitched scream?" Shikamaru deadpanned, raising an eyebrow as Naruto's lips twitched. A usually tan face went several shades paler as Shikamaru studied him, all-seeing and frighteningly critical. The officer had always been thorough. "Your neighbors said they heard the sound of a women, screaming. Are you telling me that was also you?"

Naruto paused.

He cleared his throat.

"Y..Yeah," he hedged, his voice strained as color rose to his cheeks. "I sometimes scream like a girl? What can I say? Haha..."

Shikamaru could only fix him with a quizzical stare.

Distantly, Naruto could make out the sound of someone snorting but opted to ignore it, glad that Shikamaru hadn't noticed.

"I swear, that's all that happened," Naruto tried to convince him, sounding earnest. "I just came back from a long dig in Cairo, so I think I was just really tired?"

And that was true. He wasn't lying when he'd said he'd felt _exhausted._ After all, harboring a fugitive in his apartment and almost being strangled to death by a hired assassin was leaving him feeling a little worse for wear. Naruto was still processing what happened since Anko's ominous threat.

Her deranged smile flashed in his peripheral.

Naruto remembered the feeling of her hands ringed tight around his throat. The skin around his neck was already darkening. His knuckles brushed against the sensitive flesh, trying not to flinch as he inconspicuously pulled up the collar of his shirt to hide it.

 _"I won't be back, But others will."_

"All the heat must have, _ehrm_ , made me delirious. You know how it is out there." Naruto said with a light smile, suppressing the flicker of worry in his own eyes.

 _How long?_ How long would they have until someone else showed up? Now that his apartment was compromised, Sasuke was no longer safe—which meant they couldn't stay here anymore, not when it was clear that this Kabuto guy wouldn't rest until Sasuke was his.

The asshole was in bad shape already, and that wasn't even the last of his problems...

Before the police arrived he'd shoved the fatigued thief in Sakura's bedroom closet with an equally distressed bundle of fur in his hands. Honestly, Naruto was more worried right now about Kurama, who'd fallen nearly comatose since their face off with Anko, then he was about Sasuke gurgling ancient gibberish in his direction like a man unhinged and in a dire need of a straight jacket.

Shikamaru scanned the apartment, giving it a once over; appearing contemplative of Naruto's half-baked excuse. Then the officer put the beret back on his head, crossing over to the balcony window. Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding when Shikamaru flicked the cigarette over the threshold, crushing the cylinder with his foot.

"Naruto," Shikamaru began, and Naruto straightened up, expecting him to just flat out say he didn't believe him and place him under arrest. Shikamaru turned back towards him, pursing his lips. "If something happens… don't hesitate to call me."

 _"If anything changes, call me."_ Sakura's words resonated then, her expression much like Shikamaru's—unconvinced, leery, and eminently concerned. And Naruto felt _guilt,_ harrowing and uncontested cleave at his insides.

He forced it away, swallowing saliva.

"Of course!" He promised, saluting him pleasantly. Shikamaru in turn half-smirked, his gaze lingering on Naruto, as if aware of the panic beneath Naruto's opened molared smile and brightly lit eyes. But if he did suspect, he didn't voice it. He simply tipped his beret and headed for the door, his fingers grazing the knob for just a few seconds before turning it.

Shikamaru disappeared out the front door without another word, and Naruto allowed himself the pleasure of falling to the floor on his hands knees, worn out.

"That was _sooo_ close…" He mumbled to no one, tipping forward on his stomach. Burying his head into a part of the carpet that wasn't blemished or smelled like ass, he groaned out loud.

It felt like he hadn't slept in ages.

Naruto's languished state was admittedly starting to weigh on him. He didn't even look up when he heard the sound of feet approaching him, too beat to deflect whatever snarky comment Sasuke was probably harboring since he'd stuffed him in the closet with Kurama for the past half-hour.

The bastard had left the chancel of Sakura's unquestionably nice smelling nightwear to spectate Naruto's collapse, and in that moment Naruto envied him. He wished he'd been the one cozily sifting in Sakura's unmentionables while Sasuke had been lying to the authorities.

"Get up." Sasuke commanded him, but it lacked its usual bite—he was fighting fatigue himself. In Sasuke's arms the dog whined, forcing Naruto to turn his head to look up at him, dull blue meeting all encompassing obsidian orbs.

He took everything he thought earlier back.

It was Sasuke who was worse off, after all. He looked like death as he stood over Naruto, head lolling to the side, his grip on Kurama slacking as the pup's head teetered over the edge of his arms. His rival, who'd always carried himself with a confidence that could put even the most esteemed of Pharaoh's to shame, was breathing shallowly. Bringing his tremoring hand to his forehead, Naruto watched as Sasuke wiped away a sheen of sweat.

"We need to go."

Naruto sat up with _great_ difficulty.

"Ya, you're right. It's not safe here…" he obstinately agreed, running his hands through his unruly hair. Golden barbs were sticking out on all sides of him and he patted them down, trying to think. Because they didn't have much time. They needed to go somewhere, soon.

Anko had warned them about others. There were more people coming after Sasuke, and each one would probably be more dangerous than the last. As they were right now, they didn't have the strength to fend anyone off. Naruto barely had a grasp on what was going on himself, and there were so many questions running through his head. Why were these people after Sasuke? What was their goal? _And what did Anko mean when she mentioned a ritual?_

Naruto cussed under his breath, biting the inside of his cheek.

As someone who'd spent his life cradling hard, tangible _truth_ from beneath the sand, it was hard for him to wrap his head around something like black magic.

It had never registered as anything more than a practice to incur obedience, a reliance on invisible beings to evoke fear, and a mirage to maintain a sense of order amongst the ancients.

Naruto liked to have his feet, firmly planted on the ground.

While the Egyptians had practiced practical medicine, a firm belief in sorcery and spells was deeply rooted in their culture for its healing properties. The influence of the gods, and the care in which the Egyptians observed every word, plant, and animal as a connector to their authority, made it hard to even call the practice a religion but rather, an observance of powers.

It had been an historic aggregation of deference, nothing more.

They had believed in the power of _Heka_ so much, that there was even evidence to support the practice of ritualistic cannibalism, since some Egyptians thought that the spiritual powers that resided in the body could only be acquired by ingestion. Maybe it was possible those beliefs hadn't changed.

Even in the modern day world, there were people who'd doggedly stayed on the beaten path, devoted to the old ways. There were plenty in Egypt who still believed in the existence of magic—Naruto would know. He'd met a few of these crackpots firsthand when mingling with the locals, so it wasn't a stretch to say that maybe they were being hunted by some cult who was still committed to these outdated practices, and this Kabuto guy was the leader of it?

"It's not that simple." Sasuke's harsh voice pierced his train of thought, helping Naruto blink his way into the realization that he'd been voicing his speculations out loud. "You heard what she said. Kabuto wants me _alive._ If his only plan were to eat me, idiot, then why didn't he do it when he had me knocked out?"

Naruto closed his mouth and frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I don't know Sasuke, the thrill of the chase?" Naruto grumbled, folding his arms across his chest in an exasperated huff. "Anko... She said you tried to kill her once. What's that all about? You say it never happened, but she said you lost your memory... that you escaped."

"We can't trust anything she says." Sasuke snipped venomously, already feeling a headache form. "She tried to kill you. It's not a stretch of the imagination that she could have been lying, too."

"But, I don't think she was…" Naruto murmured, chewing contemplatively on his bottom lip. "She thinks you're going to be captured eventually, right? So what would she gain by lying to us, Sasuke? That just doesn't make any sense."

Sasuke snorted. "And this is based on?"

"Just a feeling I have." Naruto said honestly, and Sasuke rolled his eyes, his smirk infuriatingly contemptuous.

"In Cairo, you didn't even notice that Sai was working with me until it was too late." Sasuke sneered as Naruto became rigid. "Your judgement is just as impaired as that brain you barely use, moron, because you lead with your _feelings._ "

"I had a feeling I should help you. Are you telling me that was wrong?" Naruto spat back, glaring into Sasuke's eyes that had widened just a fraction. Naruto's blue orbs blazed furiously, meeting stunned dull ones. "My _feelings_ are why you're still here in the first place, bastard. So don't fucking tell me that I shouldn't be listening to them."

Sasuke's heart palpitated violently in his chest.

He felt ice cold rage bubbling inside him as he carelessly set Kurama down on the floor by Naruto, his free hand brushing against the flesh of his blemished neck.

Of course even now, Naruto was driven by something so _wholesome._ But like always, the moron didn't know what he was getting himself into. The wannabe martyr just didn't _understand_. _Sasuke_ could feel the overwhelming pressure inside his body, burnishing his veins. He was still struggling to not collapse from the intensity of it, fighting the urge to hew open his skin. _Rip apart his flesh._ Tear into the muscles until the meat dangled from his bones.

He narrowed his eyes, pressing his index finger against the skin cruelly, ignoring the sting of pain.

"Can these feelings of yours stop a curse?" He asked derisively, his penetrative gaze like daggers as they rounded on Naruto with unfiltered aggression, and this time, Naruto didn't laugh. As convenient as a displaced cult of weirdos would be, even he had the uncomfortable feeling that their was more to it than that—that Sasuke being cursed _was_ possible, and he wasn't sure what he _could_ do.

This was completely out of his element, and it wasn't a problem that he could solve by turning the pages of a history book, or by reading a dissertation by a revered scholar. This was different, and Naruto chewed on his bottom lip contemplatively, carefully picking his words.

"I… don't really know." He admitted quietly under his breath, sounding resigned, and Sasuke became rigid at the admission, his own blood pounding in his ears. "But... whatever it is, I'm not going to leave you to deal with it by yourself. We're in this together now, whether you like it or not."

Naruto lifted his head to meet Sasuke's face, contorted in disbelief. And when the blond stood up, facing him fully, the rays of light from the outside decided to filter through, blanketing his face in a brilliant lambency. Sasuke's breath hitched as Naruto cast him a hesitant smile, teeth shining through against the warm backdrop. He looked almost radiant, bathed in the flush of the sun.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Sasuke…" Naruto promised him with a certain strength that stunted him into silence. "Even if it's a curse, I'll find a way to help you lift it."

Naruto held out his hand.

Sasuke's fingers twitched, wanting to reach for it.

"That's a promise…- _promise, promise...Sas...uke._ "

 _I promised._

That hand was suddenly covered in blood.

Sasuke choked on air.

He jolted backwards, nearly falling to the floor as his environment began to change. When he looked up, it was no longer the same Naruto reaching out. This Naruto was _younger. Tanner._ His hair was shoulder length, jutting out in each and every direction—and at the corner of his mouth was the same sanguine fluid, dripping down from an ill-contrived grin.

 _"Sasuke…"_

Sasuke could only watch in horror as Naruto's molars, tinged with crimson, flashed in his peripheral. Quivering, blue-tinged lips, struggled to form words as Naruto's toned legs weakly inched towards him, scoured with sweat. His smile was haunting.

 _"I…"_ Naruto slumped forward, his extended arm falling with him. Buried deep in his stomach was the dagger _. "...to..ld you..not to come…"_

Naruto coughed blood, swaying from side to side.

He was about to collapse to the floor in a heap, but Sasuke's body moved on its own. _Desperate. Possessive._ He caught Naruto's weak body with a frightening urgency and slid to the ground on his knees, noticing the floor was painted in gold and glistening with the fresh tears that had dripped from Naruto's anguished, spiritless eyes.

In its reflection, Sasuke found he no longer looked the same. He was darker, wearing a kilt-like garment around his waist, and clasped around his wrists were golden bracelets, riddled with some type of foreign design. The room they were in was no longer the archaeologist's apartment, but a dimly lit chamber, tapered in blemishes of red.

Naruto convulsed against him, violently, and Sasuke found himself instinctively holding the others cold palms in his hands. He rubbed them in an attempt to warm them, ignoring the wetness trickling from his eyes. All he could do was squeeze Naruto reassuringly. All he could do was _shake_ as Naruto chuckled, bringing his dirty, matted head to Sasuke's chest. Naruto nuzzled against it.

 _"I promised I'd protect you….S'uke... I'm…"_

The lids of _this_ Naruto's eyes drooped closed.

Sasuke felt himself let out a heart-wrenching, guttural scream from the depths of his throat.

"... _S'rry."_

This Naruto's breathing stopped.

Sasuke's vision blurred, merged into spots of color, and all went dark.

* * *

An hour of hauling Sasuke's unconscious body around-later had Naruto gasping for air like a fish when he'd finally reached their destination.

"Fuck…" Naruto groaned.

He raised his fist to the wooden door frame, knocking thrice. Naruto's back muscles clenched. Sasuke legs were wrapped around his waist, his arms dangling in front of his face and his head rested on his shoulders for support.

Naruto flushed as he felt the warm body against his breathing heavily, Sasuke's inky black locks tickling his chin. The bastard needed to stop ending up on top of him like this or he would start getting the wrong idea.

"Kiba, open up!" Naruto shouted, banging harder. He grunted in pain.

Sasuke suddenly collapsed without warning at the apartment—lucky him—and in that moment Naruto knew he didn't have time to think.

He wrote Sakura a quick note, scribbling onto a napkin that she should stay away from their place for a while until he took care of things. Then he gently tucked the injured Kurama in his satchel and swung the bag cross body. He also took care to grab Sasuke's things as well, securing them across his front before he slipped out the door with the man in tow.

It was just a miracle no one stopped him to ask questions.

It was hard enough to explain why he was carrying a grown man around on his back in Egypt without getting side eye; which is why he ended up carrying Sasuke through back alleys and bazaars, all the way to Asafra without rest.

"I'm comin', I'm comin." A surly voice called from the other side of the door, followed by the unclasping of a deadbolt.

When the door swung open, Naruto strained a grin at one of his oldest pals, waving with difficulty. He was instantly overcome with the scent of _dog._ He'd expected as much when he'd decided to seek help from his longtime veterinarian and friend, but the smell wasn't something he'd ever get used to. Kiba dealt with fleabags, so it was only natural that he'd reek of one.

"Hey Kiba, 's been a while." Naruto said, his face screwing with pain as Sasuke shifted on his back, mumbling something in his sleep, and the man with wild brown hair and tattooed cheeks sighed in front of him, _loudly._

"This ain't a fuckin' people hospital, man." Kiba deadpanned, about to shut the door in his face.

"Y-Yeah! But uh, he's not the one I need you to look at, promise." Naruto stammered, gesturing with his head towards his bag. Kiba glanced down at it and his eyes widened twice their size at the sight of Kurama, bloodied paws and all slumped inside.

"Holy shit, what happened?" Kiba sputtered, carefully taking Kurama out of the satchel. Naruto's lips twitched up, completely strained.

" _Eh-heh,_ super long story, probably won't believe me, but I just need somewhere to crash for a few days? I figured since Kurama really needs to be looked at, that you wouldn't mind if I, I mean, we..."

Kurama whimpered.

Kiba didn't hesitate when he allowed Naruto inside.


	7. Chapter 7: Provocation

**A/N:**

Finally got this out! Also, mind if I ask a quick favor guys? I've posted **two polls on my word pres** s, and I'd love for you to drop by and give me your input! It's just an inquiry on what you'd like to see more of in the future, story wise, etc. It'll be at **capturedbynoodles, dot, wordpress, dot, com.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven:** Provocation

* * *

"What the fuck did you do?" Kiba growled, tenderly carrying Kurama to his work space.

Naruto quirked his lips into a nervous smile as he followed him, not entirely sure how to put everything that's happened into words, but for the sake of Kiba's temper he'd try. Although it's been nearly two years since Kurama's last check up, his friend's place was just as he remembered it — a hovel of a home at the outermost edges of Asafra, barely lit and grossly over furnished.

The living room wasn't fit to house the _living._ It was a clusterfuck of frayed baby blankets, kibble, and tattered ledgers from the vet's many clients all strewn across the hardwood floor; but for now it would have to do. Naruto found Kiba's couch — about the only piece of furniture that looked unblemished — and attempted to set Sasuke down on it. If he carried the bastard any longer he was sure he would break his spine.

"I'm sure you'd like that though, wouldn't you?" Naruto grumbled under his breath, knowing full well that Sasuke couldn't answer back. He took comfort in the steady rise and fall of Sasuke's chest. Whatever was wrong with him, at this moment it didn't seem to be life-threatening.

Spotting Kiba's usual assortment of dog toys around the cushions, Naruto cleared them off, grimacing at the wetness on his fingers. The chew toys were covered in saliva. _Gross._ Naruto ignored it though, sighing and setting his and Sasuke's stuff down on the ground.

There were balls around his feet, worn from months of abuse. Naruto tried to avoid slipping on one as he maneuvered towards a separate room which, thankfully, was a lot neater than the rest of Kiba's place.

"I didn't do anything," Naruto finally answered, furrowing his brows, "and that's the problem… I should have done more. Someone broke into the house and Kurama helped me fend her off. I don't know if she's coming back, so I just grabbed my dad's research, Kurama and the asshole, and got out of there. I don't think I was followed but… let's just keep the doors locked."

 _"Her?"_ Kiba echoed disbelievingly. "You needed help getting rid of a _chick_? Last time I checked didn't your ass know karate?"

"Jiu Jitsu," Naruto corrected him.

" _Whatever."_ Kiba rolled his eyes like they were all one in the same. He set the dog down on his consultation table, encouragingly scratching Kurama behind the ears to make him more at ease. At the same time, Sasuke murmured something inaudible from the living room, and the look Kiba gave Naruto was downright scandalized.

There was a pause.

"What happened with Neji?"

Naruto nearly choked on his own spit.

"W-What?!" Naruto steamed, sputtered. His his ears burned. "How did you…?"

"Who do you think told me, stupid?" Kiba flashed him a toothy grin. "News flash - Hinata ain't as fuckin' clueless as you think."

Naruto could feel his eyes nearly bulging out of his skull. His mouth hung open, sinking to unworldly depths. He knew she wasn't clueless. After all, it was Hinata who'd found someone who knew information about the dagger's buyer. Information that lay folded in Naruto's front pocket, still not fully utilized. But this… This was something Naruto _wished_ she'd stayed in the dark about.

"Anyways, it isn't like you two bothered to hide it. Last thing I heard, she almost caught you and him doing the four-legged fox trot on the museum kiosk."

"This can't be happening." Naruto moaned, his face flushing pathetically. He resisted the urge to hide behind his hands, wanting to disappear. He guessed he and Neji weren't as sneaky as they thought, but imagining Hinata walking in on them even once filled him with an immeasurable amount of shame.

Biting his lip, the next question was hanging almost acidically off his tongue. Naruto dreaded to know the answer, but he had to ask.

"How long has she…?" Naruto grumbled.

"Three years." Kiba said, chipper, not missing a beat.

Naruto wanted to dissolve.

"Told ya - she's not stupid, man. But hey, this new guy's decent looking too, I guess," Kiba snorted, giving Kurama one last pat on the head. "Noticed he's wearing your clothes too. It ain't any of my business, but ya sure you weren't excavating _his cave_ when this intruder came along? You know - doing squat thrusts in the cucumber patch with sleeping beauty over there?"

"Sure Kib's, this is the face of a man who _definitely_ got laid." Naruto deadpanned, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he gestured to himself with one hand, making sure to emphasize his bleeding cuts and purpling bruises with the subtlest agitation of hips. "Just fix my fucking dog, please."

He never wanted to hear Kiba used those euphemisms again, _especially_ in the same sentence as Sasuke. Naruto had _absolutely not_ ever had any sweaty dreams about the tightly toned body of the man lying unconscious on Kiba's couch. Definitely not.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, man. There's a bag under the table. Get it for me."

Naruto's features twisted into a scowl. If Kiba were as attentive to his injuries as he were to the many animals he treated, Naruto would be all patched up by now. Freaking jerk.

Laboriously, he dropped to his knees. Instead of finding just the duffel though, another lump of fur peered out at him with sleepy, squinted eyes. Naruto tried to mask his surprise as white fur, and brown patches draped over floppy ears, appeared in his peripheral. A large wet mouth stretched into a quiet yawn, making Naruto do a double take.

"Is that…?" Naruto nearly stammered, reaching around the large canine to grab what Kiba asked for. Kiba nodded, smiling wide like the proud father he was.

"Yup, it's Akamaru!" He said with a beating fist to his chest. In an instant the Pyrenean Mountain dog fully emerged and stood on its hind legs, placing its paws on the edge of the table. Naruto didn't miss how the floorboards of the old house creaked, because _holy shit._

"That's really Akamaru?" Naruto couldn't believe it. The last time he saw the twerp he was still riding on Kiba's head, barely even Kurama's size. Now he was nearly as tall as Kiba, and it was almost intimidating. It sort of made him thankful that Kurama had stayed the same throughout the years.

If he were any bigger, Naruto was sure the little asshole would have destroyed his apartment ages ago.

"Yup! After all this time he finally hit that growth spurt." Kiba said cheerfully, scratching the back of his head. "Gotta say, I didn't expect him to be this massive, but I ain't complaining."

Kiba took the bag from Naruto's hand and set it on the table.

"Anyways, let's see what the damage is." Kiba unzipped the bag and carefully spilled the contents onto the empty space. A stethoscope, as well as other medical tools fell from it. Kiba picked up a box full of disposable latex gloves and slipped a pair on. Next, he secured the stethoscope around his neck. Kiba's expression rapidly shifted from lax to concentrated, professional.

Naruto stood back and leaned against the wall, anxious as Kiba bent down so he was eye level with Kurama.

"Alright, give me paw."

Kurama growled low in his throat, apparently realizing what was about to happen and not liking it _at all._

"Paw." Kiba repeated, only to be answered by Kurama snapping his teeth at him. Akamaru made a noise, low in his throat, that almost sounded like disappointment in the others behavior. "Kurama, I know what you're doing. Don't act like you haven't done this shit before. Show me your paw."

Kurama turned his head away, snarling in some random direction. Kiba's eye twitched with annoyance.

"Really, you're gonna act like a little bitch, is that it?" Kiba asked, pursing his lips. Kurama wriggled as far to the edge of the table as he possibly could. Naruto resisted the urge to pick up the mangy mutt by the scruff of the neck and hold him in place.

The entire scene reminded him of the first time he sought out the vet in Egypt, someone who would be capable of handling Kurama's nasty temper. Hinata had recommended visiting one of her friends in Asafra after Kurama left his sight and hurt himself, and from there the rest was history. During his first visit, Kiba had not only managed to fix Kurama's limp, but his attitude as well.

That obviously hadn't lasted long.

"C'mon Kurama, we need to get you fixed." Naruto berated, growing impatient himself from exhaustion and worry. Kurama bristled at the two of them, his sharpened nails dragging against the table in an ear piercing shriek. The threat wasn't lost on anyone. It was clear Kurama was _not_ going to listen; and Kiba wasn't having it.

"Or you can be a little shit stain. Fine." Kiba cracked his knuckles, signifying he was now playing hardball. The veterinarian motioned with his index finger towards a cabinet in the far corner of the room, face completely neutral. "Yo, Naruto, open the top drawer and bring what's in there to me, will you?"

"Sure." Naruto blinked, walking towards it.

He gripped the slatted wooden drawer by the oak brass handle and tugged it open, reaching in for whatever mysterious item Kiba considered using to put the fear of Ra in his pet.

What Naruto found was simple, yet unsurprising.

"This what you're looking for?" Naruto asked casually, holding a black ball gag in his hand. Kurama instantly flinched at the sight of it, clamping his mouth shut. Naruto's lip twitched as Kurama abruptly grew still, compliant. It was a pleasant change - but the change hadn't come soon enough.

"Eh? You're done bitching?" Kiba grinned, taking the gag. "Well that's too damn bad. You fucked up the first time pal. You know better than to dick around in front of me. Open up."

Kurama glared.

"Open. Up," Kiba commanded, placing a hand on his hip. "I ain't asking. I'm telling."

Kurama hesitated, sneered — seriously, were dogs supposed to be this expressive? — and slowly opened his mouth as Kiba placed the ball gag inside and secured it, much to Kurama's chagrin. Once the muzzle was in, Kurama harshly exhaled through his nostrils, stiffening when Kiba made to pat him appreciatively on the head.

"Good boy. Now, paw."

This time, Kurama lifted his paw and placed it reluctantly in Kiba's hand. Kiba hummed, zoning in as he felt around for injured tendons, indicative of a sprain. At the tiny little yelp Kurama let out, it was clear that he'd harmed a ligament. Not surprising, considering how hard he'd fought to defend himself against Anko.

"It ain't looking too serious," Kiba commented idly, after a brief period of silence, and Naruto's shoulders relaxed from their previously tense, locked position. The brunet ran his hands over Kurama's body, pressing ever so gently down on the flesh. "It's lookin' like he's got a sprain on his hind leg and forearm. Might be a tear, but I'd have to put him through an ultrasound just to be sure. For now, I'll put a brace on him and give him an anti-inflammatory for the inflammation - that'll get rid of some of the pain until I can see what the hell's going on in there."

Naruto allowed himself a tiny reprieve just then as he slid to the ground. The sigh of exhaustion was almost as loud as Kurama's furious huffing and puffing. It was a miracle he'd kept his eyes open for this long, but his mind had been racing a mile a minute since Kurama had gotten injured. Naruto smiled, forcing the sides of his lips to quiver up with much difficulty.

"He's usually terrible at listening to directions, but I don't think his ass will chance running around for a while," Kiba continued, "... little guy's in pain, so he'll be off his feet until he's better. I also think he bruised his ribs. But again, ain't nothin bed rest and painkillers won't fix. He should be fine, man. He got off pretty easy from the looks of it."

"That's great…" Naruto said, but the pressure in his chest still wasn't alleviated. His guilt filled the space inside his lungs, inflating and threatening to pop. He felt horrible for putting Kurama through this. "Thanks, Kiba."

"Don't mention it." Kiba frowned, and he stepped back from the table, quietly scrutinizing. "I know that look on your face; I have that look almost every time Akamaru gets hurt. You feel like this is your fault, don't you?"

"Isn't it?" Naruto gritted out, folding his arms across his bent knees. "I shouldn't have left Kurama out of my sight. I shouldn't have let him help me."

"Oh c'mon," Kiba rolled his eyes. "Didya' think his ass would have fought with you if he didn't want to? Kurama ain't man's best friend and you know that, bro. He makes cats look loyal. So if he didn't wanna be involved, he would have ran off when all this crap went down. Plain and simple."

"Urgh..." Naruto groaned. Kiba had a point. Though he hated to admit it, Kurama was the most unreliable pet there was. He wouldn't have done anything he didn't want to. "I guess you're right…"

"I know I'm right, bitch. Now, go get some shut-eye, cause you look like shit."

"I feel like shit," Naruto grumbled honestly, rubbing his knuckles against his eyes. It's been nearly two days since he slept. "And lugging Sasuke around wasn't easy."

"Ya, well, I'm sure your backs used to a lot worse." Kiba snorted, and Naruto couldn't even muster the strength to glare at the remark. He stood up with unsurprising difficulty and muttered another quiet thanks as he left the room, drowsiness motivating his every lethargic step.

Sasuke was still asleep when he reentered the living room, but the position didn't look pleasant.

Naruto tiredly cussed under his breath. Not that it mattered to him whether Sasuke was cozy, it just annoyed him to see the bastards head bent at an awkward angle like that. That's all. The man's face was smushed against one of the gaudy looking, white sandstone seat cushions, and any moment now Naruto was sure Sasuke would suffocate from just the smell alone.

He stopped in front of the couch, not knowing what was sparking the urge to help Sasuke out. But a few minutes of internal conflict later, Naruto found himself lifting Sasuke into his arms and carrying him towards Kiba's spare bedroom, bridal style. He wanted to kick himself for putting his body through more torture, but it felt wrong somehow to leave him there.

"I must be tired…," Naruto murmured. He contemplated dropping Sasuke, but his body was… comfortably warm. Somewhere on his way to the guest chamber, Sasuke's shirt had hitched up, exposing his stomach and lower back. Naruto's palms rested against the bare flesh, noticing just how smooth the pale skin was. He could feel the hard muscles underneath his fingers lean and recline as Sasuke's breath tickled the nape of his neck.

Naruto swallowed thickly, adams apple bobbing, face _flushing_ when Sasuke's cheek rubbed unconsciously against his chest. His biggest mistake was looking down; Naruto's breath snagged in his throat. Azure eyes fell, half-mast, as they took in the sight of Sasuke's strong jawline and refined features up close; blanched, sensuous lips parted and seized by slumber. Long, sweeping eyelashes, rested over creamy ivory.

Naruto almost tripped over his own feet when he crossed the threshold.

He was _definitely_ tired. That was the only explanation for why he was acting like a prepubescent weirdo, since this was _Sasuke_ he was ogling here _._ Kiba's teasing must have subconsciously gotten to him or something if he was actually thinking, for a second there, that Sasuke had looked… well… _pretty_.

Naruto grimaced at himself.

 _What the_ ** _fuck._** ** _  
_** _  
_He released Sasuke onto Kiba's mattress just a tad bit harder than he'd intended, because _okay. Yeah._ Sasuke was good looking, so what? That didn't justify his actions, and it sure as hell didn't make up for his shitty personality.

Naruto huffed, folding his arms across his chest. The fact that Sasuke was, _ehrm, attractive enough_ by his standards had already been grudgingly established in several of the archaeologists most awkward, sweat-inducing nightmares; but he'd already decided that it didn't matter. Sasuke was Sasuke. That's all there was to it.

He kicked himself for his wandering thoughts in the first place, trying to rein himself back in.

It was difficult though, when his heart was playing a concerto inside his chest cavity. The sound only augmented itself to greater heights when he fell next to Sasuke, body completely shutting down. Which explained why he didn't pull his hand away, even when Sasuke's fingers heedlessly grazed his own.

Naruto flinched.

Sasuke turned towards him, and he shamelessly caught himself staring as the raven mumbled in his sleep. The thief looked younger like this, without his lips gnarled down in sacrilege, and his brows knitted together contemptuously. It was a look that, much to Naruto's fatigued wonder, he welcomed more of. And Sasuke, as if hearing his thoughts, eased closer.

"Asshole…" Naruto grumbled under his breath. This wasn't fair. He was too tired to push him away. Even as Sasuke's arm began to languidly drape itself across his waist…

Even as Sasuke began to gravitate towards him…

And even as Naruto began to revel in the temperate, cozy planes of the other man's torso against his own…not noticing the mauve mist coming from the mark on Sasuke's neck, starting to filter into the air around them as they slept.

* * *

 _"Are you awake now?"_ _  
_ _  
_Sasuke came to with a jolt, slowly bringing his clammy, restless hands to his face.

The ancient chamber he'd been in had vanished, leaving him standing in a thick, purplish smog. He curled and uncurled his fingers, testing their validity. They were no longer covered in Naruto's blood, saliva _, or_ _tears,_ but the appendages he found himself fostering were not his own. His arms were lanky, near juvenile. Sasuke found, to his discomfort, that they matched his suddenly shorter stature as the man clenched his jaw, looking down at himself.

He was wearing a modest, two-button black suit that gave Sasuke the appearance of one attending a funeral; and he sucked in a harrowing breath. Minimally content that Naruto's bludgeoned figure had disappeared, yet anxious from his new somber, sixteen year-old appearance.

 _"It took you long enough..."_ _  
_ _  
_Sasuke's entire body froze as he looked behind him, and his surroundings emerged with a blinding flash.

He covered his eyes with his forearm, blinking in the new setting with unfocused scrutiny. Sasuke was standing in a hospital room, and a familiar child stood next to him, dressed in the same attire. Sasuke could tell almost immediately who it was as similar ebony eyes mirrored back at him from behind a fringe of inky locks.

His much younger self walked towards the curtain at the center of the room, hand hovering over it contemplatively. His expression was a mix of intrigue and derisive disinterest, which both irritated and unnerved Sasuke.

 _"Hello."_ The child greeted him, simply.

"Hello…" Sasuke said tightly, glaring at the apparition.

 _"Do you remember this place?"_ His younger self asked, leaning forward and back on his heel, as if he were restless.

Sasuke looked around the room again, and the effects were immediate. Crippling. The steady beep of an encephalogram echoing against the pristine, white walls of the emergency room were deafening. Yet routine.

The hospital bills, all made out to an _Itachi Uchiha_ lay stacked on a small drawer, each more noticeably lengthier than the last.

"I remember…" He replied, thickly. Long dark hair, pulled into a loose ponytail, appeared from the dark recesses of Sasuke's mind, framing gentle features. The onslaught of memories was enough to make Sasuke retch.

"... _Of course you do,"_ The child said rather idly, appearing bored. _"This was the place where I let him down. Well… where_ you _, let him down..."_ _  
_ _  
_Sasuke clenched his fists at his sides, biting the inside of his cheek. All he could do was watch, helplessly, as this version of himself pulled back the curtain. All Sasuke could do was shake as a tired smile attempted to placate him from a old, incommodious hospital mattress.

 _Itachi..._

His older brother was in the bed, his hand held out toward him, beckoning; and Sasuke remembered that same hand as it hung lamely over the sheets.

Comatose.

 _"He deserved better than you…"_ His five year old self said, sneering up at him. His small feet tapered toward the edge of the bed, leaning against it with a dirty scowl. _"You're weak, Sasuke. You've always been weak. It's your fault that he's here like this... It's your fault that he's still lying in this bed where you should be."_

The lights in the hospital room flickered and crackled around him. Sasuke's heart thundered in his ears as he took a step back.

His body hit a wall.

 _"You make me sick. Look what you've resorted to doing for a living. And what do you have to show for it? Nothing... You don't have enough money… You don't have enough power,"_ the child chuckled, grinning manically. " _You couldn't even save your own brother, in this life… "_

From where his younger self stood, Naruto appeared, beaming wide. It was the same exotic looking one from before with long barbed hair, and sun-kissed skin. The same one Sasuke had watched die, numerous ties, in his arms. Sasuke was paralyzed as the specter briskly walked towards him and leaned in.

"...So, bastard..."

Smooth lips pressed against the shell of his ear with a taciturn, sly look. Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck, and his breath ghosted sensuously against his skin as the room around him glitched out. Grew distorted.

Sasuke's breathing seized.

"...What makes you think you could have ever saved me?"

The heart monitor in the room flat lined.


	8. Chapter 8: Casting Call

**A/N:**

Here it finally is. Chapter eight - my longest chapter yet. I'd like to thank Kizukatana for being an amazing friend and Beta, as usual, and Theatrical Placenta for thinking of a few hilarious things here and there that I could insert into the dialogue. I really worked hard on this, so I hope you enjoy, everyone! Things are started to get real. As always, early updates will always first and foremost be at my AO3. **  
**

* * *

**Chapter Eight:** Casting Call

* * *

 **Cairo, Egypt  
** **Museum of Antiquities  
** **القاهرة  
** **Nine years ago**

 _Most people would be too scared to visit a bunch of dead guys in the middle of the night, but Naruto wasn't most people._

 _"This is amazing…," the sixteen year old whispered fiercely to himself as he sat on the floor, his index finger flipping through the tattered pages of a book. His back lay pressed against the glass case enclosed around King Tutankhamun's coffin, head craned forward in concentration._

 _The print in front of him was illuminated only by a soft, warm glow from the windows above._

 _Naruto brought his knees up to his bare chest. Despite the awkward position, he found it easy to use his thighs as a pedestal of sorts, with the light of the moon guiding hungry, water christened eyes over each and every syllable. He read furiously, his head tipped downward, black reading spectacles threatening to slide down his nose. Specs he only whipped out for moments like these. When his heart was sent fluttering, full of excitement and childish expectations over a world many would only believe in fiction._

 _"The luxurious clothes stirred in her greedy and ambitious mind, bewitching dreams of power and influence…," Naruto read to himself, cradling his chin in one hand as he nestled the novel with his other hand, humming contemplatively. Midaq Alley was a story he swiped from his Dad's library, a story which quickly had swept him away with its depiction of Cairo's emergence into the modern era._

 _"I like how detailed everything is but… Hamida is the most interesting character in here. Am I right or am I right?" Naruto asked over his shoulder, only to be met with silence. If Tutankhamun wasn't just bandages and rotten flesh, he was sure the answer would be_ ** _of course_** _. Naruto grinned, wiggling his toes with an airy sort of laugh as he continued to ramble to the mummy._

 _"See, Hamida is not your typical Egyptian woman," Naruto said matter-of-factly, shutting the book. He tapped the glass, as if demanding full attention of the empty husk. "She's strong. She wants power in a world where she's powerless. So screw settling down and having kids. She's got bigger and better things to do, yanno? Just like me."_

 _"And I'm sure these bigger and better things didn't involve her carrying one sided conversations with a corpse."_

 _Naruto made an ungodly noise of surprise as he dropped the book, scrambling to a stand. He nearly fell forward onto the sarcophagus when he spun around, glasses flying off his face and into some random direction, clanging to the floor._

 _The first thing he looked at was Tutankhamun, scrutinizing him for answers._

 _"Naruto," a voice said, and the teen followed the sound to meet puzzled, dark eyes, narrowed in on him from the gallery entryway. Neji was standing there with his arms crossed, dressed in white, linen cotton, and as nonplussed as ever to Naruto's freak-outs, yet momentarily amused nonetheless. Naruto nearly let out a sigh of relief, happy that he hadn't managed to wake up the dead, but that happiness was short lived._

 _"What are you doing in the hall of royal mummies, when you are supposed to be in bed?" Neji inquired looking slightly annoyed, though his eyes skimmed quickly down Naruto's bare chest down to the cotton sleep pants he wore.._

 _Naruto froze. The Hyuga tapped a foot against the marble floor, demanding an answer and that it be provided_ ** _quickly_ **_. After all, the Hyuga household, while just behind the museum, was not connected to it in anyway—and that's where Naruto had been staying before he'd decided to take a leisurely stroll on private property in nothing but his flannel pajama pants; a feat which apparently both embarrassed and stunned Neji into silence when he thought about those who probably saw the juvenile entering the premises, barefoot._

 _Neji's temple began to throb._

 _Minato and Kushina had left for their excavation in Bawiti several days ago, leaving their son in the Hyuga's charge. In spite of them being the same age, Neji often declared it was as though he were babysitting a child. This declaration was reinforced when the teen would wake up to find Naruto gone, and the security codes to get into the museum taken from his top desk drawer. Naruto never thought to ask what Neji was doing coming to his bedroom in the middle of the night in the first place._

 _The blond looked away, scratching his cheek as he watched Neji's glare intensify and the cogs in his mind clearly spinning._

 _"Well?" Neji asked, and before Naruto could open his mouth to speak a firm hand was held out towards him, signalling that he stop. "Do not attempt to fabricate stories, because I am not in the mood. Explain yourself, and do so quickly, because I'm tired and this close to strangling you, Uzumaki."_

 _Oh, shit._

 _"Ehrm, well I…," Naruto floundered, lip twitching into an apprehensive smile, because Neji called him by his last name—something he only did when he was seriously pissed. Naruto looked around the room, wondering if there was anyway he could escape. But at Neji's impatient glare withering him away, he found he had no choice but to own up._

 _"Ugh look, Neji I… I couldn't sleep, okay?"_

 _"You couldn't…," Neji blinked slowly, processing the half-baked excuse on his tongue. "You couldn't sleep?"_

 _"Yeah…"_

 _Silence filled the space between them. Naruto chewed on his bottom lip, offering him up a shrug of his shoulders. Neji balled up his fists. Nothing but uncontested irritation boiled inside of him as he rolled his eyes, softly cursing under his breath. Naruto could already feel the impending lecture coming in and coming fast. He barely had time to wince when Neji walked towards him and smacked his fist into his head. Hard._

 _"Ow!" Naruto yelled, kneading his scalp. "That hurt, asshole!"_

 _"I'm glad it did." Neji sneered, shaking his head as he bent down to pick up Naruto's glasses from off the floor. "Because that's the worst excuse I've heard you spew in a while, and I've heard some memorable ones."_

 _Naruto threw his hands down, pursing his lips into a pout._

 _"I'm being serious! I really couldn't sleep!"_

 _"And that justifies coming here, how?" Neji gestured around the room, glaring at him. "If my father found out you were here after closing, I could lose what little faith he has in me to succeed this place. And what you did was_ ** _moronic_** _."_

 _Neji's brows knitted together, frustrated, and his voice steadily climbed in tempo._

 _"What if you lost the access code?" He shoved Naruto's glasses at the others chest. Naruto quietly slipped them over the bridge of his nose. "Someone else could have came in and stolen important artifacts. You, more than anyone, should know that there are pieces here that can not be put at risk simply because you wanted to play house with Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun."_

 _"I know, but..!"_

 _"I trusted that you wouldn't pull any stunts like this," Neji continued, rubbed his throbbing temples and gritting his teeth. "But my faith in you was apparently misguided. I'll be having the security team change the passwords at once. You are not to set foot in here after closing again, Uzumaki. I can't believe you would attempt something so inconceivably asinine as to go behind my back and…-"_

 _"Fuck! I know, okay? I'm really sorry!" Naruto snapped, already at his limit. "I was careful to lock the door behind me, but I know it was stupid. I get it, I get it. Never again. Damnit, I just…," he groaned and bit his lip, reluctant to finish the sentence. Naruto scratched his cheek timidly, eyes focusing in on a random artifact in the room; and his face flushed pathetically, blue eyes glimmering with a vulnerability he'd never expressed before._

 _This seriously sucked._

 _"Since my parents left I…," Naruto took a deep, shaky breath. "I dunno, okay? It's just been hard to sleep at your place. I haven't heard from my Dad at all. It's been worrying me and… this place calms me down."_

 _Neji's mouth closed._

 _Naruto quietly reached down to pick up his book, guiding it closely to his chest._

 _"This place feels more like home to me, yanno?" Naruto tried to explain, earnestly, shaking his head. "I don't know why but… when I'm here, I feel a little less anxious, like they're not too far away. I shouldn't have came here without asking. You're right and… I'm sorry. But I just… really can't take it anymore. I have a bad feeling."_

 _Naruto shuffled his feet, staring at his reflection on the floor with abashed concentration. Neji's jaw relaxed, his anger already slipping away. The candid, unguarded expression on Naruto's face made it difficult to continue to berate him. As much as Neji didn't want to admit it, he detested seeing Naruto of all people so dispirited, even if he did go behind his back._

 _Naruto tensed when Neji's hand abruptly came to rest on his shoulder. He relaxed, though, when he felt his friend give him a firm squeeze in reassurance._

 _"They're fine," Neji stated, his decree staunch and unquestionable. Naruto felt a smile tug on the corner of his lips. He'd like to believe that. Neji's unequivocal confidence always managed to make him feel better, somehow._

 _"You think so?" Naruto chuckled, voice breaking. It was strange. He just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. "I don't know what's up with me, then..."_

 _"You're just overthinking things." Neji frowned, that hand on Naruto's shoulder carefully smoothing across so his arm was draped over, warm and secure. Naruto flushed when that same arm wordlessly pulled him close to the others chest, Neji's focus intense. His tongue flicking out to lick his lips. Naruto followed the wet appendage with his eyes, cheeks reddening. Neji smirked, gradually bringing their bodies together. Naruto almost choked on his breath._

 _"Neji, what are you…?"_

 _Neji ran his hand down the smooth expanse of Naruto's back, caressing the skin in slow circles. His friend wasn't the type of person to ever casually go up to someone and hug them but this felt… good. Naruto flushed further when Neji buried his head in his hair, telling him that things would be okay. His heart was hammering loudly in his chest, head fuzzy, ears tingly. Because when Neji pulled away he leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together. Seeking the contact._

 _The gesture was comforting._

 _Warm._

 _"Believe in me," Neji breathed, smirk contemptuous but full of fervor, and Naruto felt strangely compelled to actually surrender to it. His lips suddenly felt really chapped._

 _Maybe he was feeling lonely, maybe he was feeling weak—but when Neji started to close the distance between them, he didn't move away; he gravitated closer. Tentatively brushing their lips together, Neji sucked in a breath, murmuring his name. Naruto let his eyes slip closed when Neji gently began to coax his mouth open with his own, hands traveling down to rest on Naruto's hips._

 _"Naruto, you…"_

 _The approaching sound of feet made them break apart, instantly._

 _"Boys, are you in here?"_

 _Naruto's eyes widened to the size of saucers. He touched two fingers to his lips, all at once scrambling away and yelping loudly as a deep voice, rough with exhaustion, called out to them._

 _It was Neji's dad. Crap!_

 _Neji mumbled an expletive under his breath—something that both amused and terrified Naruto, because Neji rarely cursed._

 _"We're so screwed," Naruto was actually considering jumping out the window, "...we need to hide! Come on!"_

 _It was too late. Neji, for once, looked disappointed when the lights came on in their section of the museum and Mr. Hyuga stood in front of them, face firm. Naruto wasn't sure if the older man saw what they'd been doing, but he was ready to book it and swim across the Nile any second now if he did. He was too young to die, and Mr. Hyuga was scary when angry._

 _"This really isn't what it looks like," Naruto stammered, laughing to fill the nerve wracking tension. "We were-uh, see Neji came to look for me because…Well I, haha..."_

 _"Naruto." Mr. Hyuga said, and his tone was heavy with something indecipherable. "I need to speak with you."  
_  
 _Neji furrowed his brows together, questioning. Mr. Hyuga didn't say much else, only gesturing for Naruto to come forward. Hinata appeared behind the older man, her eyes wet with tears. Naruto felt nausea in the pit of his stomach when he walked towards the two of them, feeling every step echo throughout the chamber ominously._

 _"Is… everything okay?" Naruto asked carefully, and for some reason, he didn't want to know the answer. Blues eyes sought Hinata's imploringly, mustering up a forced, easygoing grin. Because they were acting strange."Hey, Hinata, are you okay?" She started to openly_ ** _weep_** _. "Did… did something happen?" Panic settled in. Naruto clutched his Dad's book to his chest, grasping its spine like a lifeline. "I know I snuck in here and everything, and it's all my fault, but…"_

 _"N-Naruto...Y-Your parents… they're..."_

 _Naruto's face went numb._

 _"There was an accident." Mr. Hyuga attempted to say calmly, but his voice quivered._

 _"This isn't easy. But your parents are…"_

 _"I'm so sorry, Naruto… I'm so sorry…"_

 _"Your mother and father are…"  
_

* * *

 _Dead._

Naruto woke up, startled.

His clothes were soaked in sweat.

Two hands - rough and calloused - shook him awake. He sat up with difficulty, bringing his knuckles to rub the sleep out of his eyes. His head stung with pain. It felt like he hadn't gotten a decent rest at all, and with that dream and everything, he was left in an even worse mood than usual, because he hadn't thought about the night he learned his parents were dead since… well, since they _died_.

"Finally, you're fucking awake!"

Naruto cringed at the loud voice, burying his head in his hands. The last thing he wanted to hear was Kiba's bitching so soon, but he had no choice with the other, breathing in his face. When he could finally see, spreading his fingers to peek out at him, he was met with Kiba's frantic flailing and foot stomping, gesturing to his right. He looked like he was attempting to perform some half-assed rain dance.

"Kiba, what the hell is your problem?" Naruto scrunched his nose with an irritant huff, definitely not awake enough to deal with Kiba's excited finger pointing or the strange, purple mist that was circling around them.

… Wait, _what?_

Naruto scrambled out of bed.

"This shit - I don't know how to fucking deal with this, bro! What the fuck is going on with him?!" Kiba asked anxiously, backing up. Naruto wondered if he was still dreaming when he moved a safe distance away and turned around. Sasuke was still asleep, but his body was hovering a few inches off the bed, completely shrouded in a dark haze. Kiba was panicking, talking _rapidly_ , moving his hands; and Naruto finally understood why.

"I came in to see if you were asleep and there's pretty boy, floating like his ass was Linda Blair, and I ain't a fucking priest, man! I'm a vet! The fuck is this!"

The ground beneath them shook. Naruto yelped as he nearly fell on his ass. He had to brace himself against the wall when the mist began to rapidly swarm around Sasuke, almost as if it were fighting itself.

"How long has he been like that?!" Naruto screamed, jabbing his finger at Sasuke's limp, levitating body.

"An hour?! Fuck if I know?!" Kiba yelled, teeth chattering. It was starting to feel cold—in _Egypt._ "I tried to wake you up but you were out of it too!"

Naruto gaped at him. Then his eyes bugged. Black tomoes were spreading across Sasuke's body at a rapid pace, and his brows were knitted together in his sleep, distressed. Sasuke's mouth opened wide as the mist surrounded him, taking in desperate, wheezing breaths. The anomaly whipped around the room, growing increasingly more violent. The force of it tousled Naruto's hair, and a nearby desk lamp was knocked to the ground with its bulb, shattering upon impact.

Naruto felt as though he were watching something straight out of a movie as he inched further away with Kiba, struggling to make heads or tails of what he was seeing.

Bits of mattress and torn up pillowcases flew around the room in all directions, and beneath Sasuke's unconscious form the bed began to tear itself apart. Kiba shrieked, gaping at the sight with extended arms, waving them up and down furiously.

"Look, I ain't messin' with this dark magic shit, but I paid four hundred pounds for that goddamn mattress, so whatever he's doin' has gotta stop!"

"And what the hell do you propose I do, huh?!" Naruto hollered over the sound of wind, whooshing around the room. He was nearly pushed back when a powerful, ear piercing pulse of smog thrashed from Sasuke's inflamed mark to the floor, splintering the wood. Kiba squealed like a girl and Naruto couldn't even make fun of him for it. This was _terrifying._

"Just get your boyfriend down or something, man, before he destroys everything!" Kiba pleaded with him, pressing his hands together. "This asshole is wrecking my bachelor pad with all this voodoo crap!"

"Sasuke's not my _fucking_ boyfriend, Kiba!" Naruto seethed, tightly fisting his hair as he tried to think of what to do. It was just hard to hear his own thoughts when Kiba's house suddenly sounded like a wind tunnel, and Sasuke was levitating higher into the air. Kiba's panicking didn't help things either. His friend looked _this_ close to shitting himself. "Look, do you have something heavy around?"

"No way, no fucking way are you using one of my things as a paperweight for his POSSESSED LOOKIN' ASS!" Kiba yelled, shielding his head and ducking to the ground when a cabinet flew past them and slammed into the wall.

From the living room, Akamaru was barking frantically, claws bared and growling in their direction.

Kiba furiously shook his head, laughing hollowly as another cabinet fell over with a deafening _bang._

"This is a dream, haha, yeah, this is all dream!" Kiba told himself, running a clammy hand through his hair. "I walked in here, tried to wake your ass up, and you punched me in the face—that's it! I'm just laying on the ground right now, bleeding out, imagining this bull shit!"

"Well, I hope you're right, and I knocked myself out after!" Naruto shouted back, falling to the floor himself and crawling towards Sasuke on his hands and knees, struggling to advance against the wind. Kiba's eyes widened as he stared at Naruto's back, babbling a string of expletives. Because where the _fuck_ was he going?

"What the are you doing, stupid?!"

Naruto clenched his teeth as he looked over his shoulder, not knowing himself. He wasn't sure what he could do for Sasuke. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he'd make it out of this _alive._ But he did know, with certainty, that he couldn't just leave the bastard like this.

He'd made a promise, after all.

 _"Can these feelings of yours stop a curse?"_

Naruto stared up at Sasuke determinedly, remembering the conversation he'd had in his apartment before the other passed out.

They were in this together now, weren't they? Naruto chewed on his bottom lip, recollecting what he swore in his demolished living room, internalizing Sasuke's grave expression to memory. Sasuke's face, a contorted mix of disbelief and appreciation, flashed to the forefront of his mind as he relived the vow he'd made. The vow that he wouldn't let anything hurt Sasuke anymore. A vow that he would protect him, until they lifted this curse.

And that's exactly what he planned on doing.

Staggering up to stand to his full height, Naruto's sweaty fingers scrambled for purchase of Sasuke's shoulders, gripping them tightly. Every time the mist that leaked from Sasuke's inflamed markings brushed against his cheek, Naruto felt himself grow cold. He was near paralyzed by the influence of something immeasurably _evil._ He had to use all his strength to move his lips, staving off the queasiness he felt at being so near the phantom presence.

"Kiba, our bags!" Naruto commanded, gesturing with his head. "In the living room I left our stuff there. Hand them to me!"

Kiba shook his head from where he was curled up on the floor, crossing his arms over his chest. He refused to move, completely fine with staying where he was and wishing everything away. Naruto wished he had that luxury.

"FUCK THAT!" Kiba roared, flipping him the bird. "No fucking way am I moving!"

"But I have an idea!"

"Screw your ideas!" Kiba spat at him, cursing _again_ when the house gave a violent shake. Kiba's mouth nearly unhinged at the sight of one of his windows shattering, knowing that he was going to have to dig into his savings to repair all the damage to his house. He clamped his hands over his ears when another window cracked. He was moving after this, he decided then. He was moving far, _far away. Fuck, Eygpt._ "I'm not going anywhere near that freak!"

"Well do you want him down or not?" Naruto growled. "Because if you do, then you need to help me!" He told him as he held on for dear life _._ The archeologist hissed in pain when a jagged piece of wood flew by and nicked his chin; and the blood that dripped from the wound surreally dribbled upward, toward the ceiling.

Kiba noticed and hung his head, pounding the floor with his fist.

"Damnit!" He had better get an award for most amazing friend of the year, because Naruto was testing his loyalties here.

Kiba reluctantly crawled out of the guest chamber and into his living room—which, to his dread, was starting to shift around as well, to look for the idiots things. He found them by the couch. Two bags, nearly identical, were lying on top of each other in a tangled web of holsters. Kiba didn't know which one was Naruto's, and he sure wasn't going to try to figure it out. He picked them both up and slung them over his shoulder, then he marched into the bedroom, placing them on the floor and attempting to kick them towards the blond like he was diseased.

Naruto smiled gratefully but shook his head, gesturing at Sasuke's feet.

When Kiba realized what he needed he paled, mouthing a resolute _hell no._

"I need you to grab his feet, Kib's." Naruto stated as calmly as he could, trying not to flinch when another drawer slammed open and closed behind him.

Kiba slapped his forehead, nearly brought to tears.

He was a good friend. Too good, he told himself, as he picked up the satchels and put the straps over his shoulder with the look of a man going to war. Swiftly closing the distance between them, Kiba reluctantly ringed his hands around Sasuke's ankles, positively kicking himself for having a conscience at a time like this.

"If I live through this, you are so not invited over here ever again - not if you're bringing this guy with you!" Kiba said, seriously. "I don't give a shit and a half if you've been taking him to pound town! He's banned from my place!"

"Yeah, okay, whatever. Here's the plan!" Naruto yelled amidst the piercing cyclone that blasted around them. "You hold onto his legs, I've got his shoulders. We're going to push him down, alright?"

Naruto realized that it probably wasn't much of a strategy. But he figured if he was lucky, then he could probably bring Sasuke down from the air with their combined strength and pin him to the floor.

Though the logic behind, _if they stopped the levitation, maybe it would stop the carnage,_ was probably flawed somewhere, they needed to act on something and act _fast._ Naruto just prayed to whatever higher power that the thing seeping out of Sasuke's neck didn't incapacitate them first before they had a chance to try.

"Ahh- shit, SHIT! What if he starts getting slimy or somethin'?" Kiba moaned uncomfortably, kicking himself for even listening to Naruto as he struggled to hold on, closing his eyes. "All the horror flicks I've watched tell me that this is a bad idea, man, a bad idea! He'll probably start excreting ooze any minute now!"

"If he did, then I'd be worried."

"YOU AREN'T FUCKING WORRIED NOW?!" Kiba barked murderously.

The paint on the walls, to Naruto's horror, began to _peel._

Yes, he was _worried._

 _"_ Just start pushing!" Naruto commanded, clenching his back muscles and pressing down with access force. "If we can get Sasuke down, just a little, then the rest should be easy!" Here's to being hopeful. "I just need you to _push._ "

"Sure, I'll push alright," Kiba growled at Naruto, glaring back and forth between him and Sasuke's immobilized form. "Push him out a window."

"Kiba!"

"So he could float into the sky and I won't ever have to see his home wrecking ass again!" Kiba explained.

"Kiba, please!" The purplish mist was beginning to wrap around both of their waists. They seriously didn't have time to argue. Now was the time to _act._

Not trying to panic, they jointly gripped as hard as they could, nails digging into pale flesh, and drove Sasuke down. It was like trying to move a car with only their thumb and index finger. Sasuke barely moved at all, even as they applied pressure, their faces reddening as they swallowed some much needed oxygen in a room that was becoming increasingly less congenial.

This was _impossible_.

Naruto gasped as the smog grew thicker, making it hard to see. Through his half lidded eyes, Naruto noticed their own feet were beginning to lift and settle back on the ground, over and over again. Sasuke clenched his fists in his comatose state, white knuckled and shaking as he twisted and turned in the air, letting out a distressed, rasping sound, akin to that of a man struggling to breathe.

Naruto's heart clenched in his chest when the thief whimpered, lips moving rapidly to form a strangled plea.

 _"Help… Ita...chi..."_

He couldn't give up.

"Look," Naruto managed through the noise, letting go of Sasuke's wrists. "I have another idea! But wait for my signal!"

Kiba wanted to scream a _what now_ when Naruto moved quickly towards the rapidly deteriorating bed frame, wordlessly climbing on top of it. He stood to his full height, struggling not to stagger as the pressure in the room caused him to sway and fold.

The holes in the mattress were growing larger as chunks flew in his face, making it difficult to settle himself on the bedspread.

Naruto positioned himself regardless, bent at the knees.

This was a crazy idea. It probably wouldn't work. But if he could just use the influence of the gravitating room to his advantage—then maybe it would give him the momentum he needed to fully lay over Sasuke and bring him to the ground.

If their arm strength wasn't enough, then maybe the weight of Naruto's body would be.

Kiba's jaw went slack.

"Naruto, I know what you're thinking. _Don't._ "

"This is the only way, okay?" Naruto told him honestly, swallowing down his nerves. And he didn't think when he jumped on top of Sasuke, bringing his arms around his waist and squeezing him tightly to hold on.

He felt _ridiculous_ climbing on top of him like this.

It was like trying to stay afloat in the ocean on a raft. A living, breathing raft, that just so happened to be comprised of the bane of Naruto's existence. Sasuke was as difficult to maneuver onto as he was to get along with. The mauve mist rocked his body around, though Naruto would remain persistent in his efforts. He swung his leg around Sasuke, blessing his physical endurance, cultivated through years of grunt field work, and nearly cheered when he was able to prop himself up so he was sitting on top of Sasuke's lap.

He compressed himself against the man's chest, suspended in midair. Kiba stared up at them from the ground, not bothering to hide his disbelief or concern as Naruto waved over his shoulder with the most forced grin he could muster. He just hoped he could laugh about this fifteen years from now with a _hey, Sasuke, remember that time I mounted you like a camel when you were levitating? Good times, good times._ Because this situation was bizarre, and he didn't know how else to process it.

Sasuke groaned beneath him.

Naruto wondered if he was waking up. He figured it would be difficult _not_ to with everything going on. However, Sasuke stayed asleep in spite of the burden of his body, or the noise augmenting around them, and when Naruto looked down at his face he noticed that his down turned lips were steadily turning blue.

That couldn't be good. Naruto would address it when they reached the ground, though, because Sasuke _was_ sinking. _Slowly,_ but surely, Sasuke was descending just like Naruto had hoped.

Kiba whooped out loud, his celebrations short lived when the last window in the room blew apart. The vet screamed in frustration, counting another couple of hundred pounds in his head for repairs.

"Can't he float down a little faster?!" Kiba yelled impatiently. Naruto just rolled his eyes, hanging on as Sasuke settled to the floor, his appreciation for the ground growing after a few minutes of battling the elements.

"Kiba, my bag." Naruto said, palms open. The way he was positioned, and with his eyes trained on Sasuke, not wishing to leave him, he could only blindly reach behind for one of the bags, hoping he'd choose the right one.

He was aiming for his dagger, but he wasn't going to stab Sasuke—though he was sure Kiba would want that at this point, since the bastard had trashed his house. _No_ , Naruto was going to pin Sasuke to the ground for good with the blunt end of his knife until he figured out his next move.

Naruto's fingers deftly brushed against what felt like his weapon, before wrapping around it completely to tug it out. As Naruto brought it to his face, he blinked his eyes in rapid succession, scrutinizing the object; as it wasn't _his_ dagger. Nor was it Sasuke's.

Naruto realized, to his abject unease, that what he had pulled out wasn't _any_ of their daggers, but _the_ dagger.

The results were explosive.

Sasuke's markings _glowed,_ practically blinding him and Kiba as the nefarious vapor collected entirely above them into a coiling mass that seemed to twist and writhe as though alive. Naruto couldn't tell if the mist was coming _from_ Sasuke's mark or from his entire being. The light that emanated from Sasuke—and now, the dagger—seemed pure, despite the darkness that edged the mist that enshrouded him.

There seemed to be a low, almost humming sound that pulsed the air around them as the power seemed to build, the vapor coiling tighter, light over dark, until it seemed to burst, a bright spike spearing up, passing through the wood and brick of the house as though it didn't even exist, striking deep into the night sky.

Naruto raced to the window and looked out, a low feeling of dread swirling in him at the thought that it looked almost like a signaling beacon. And anything that was signaled by _this shit_ could _not_ be good.

"Holy fucking -" Kiba said from over his shoulder. "Since when can _flashlights_ pass through walls?"

As abruptly as the light had started, it ended. Awrutshimaru's dagger dulled. The mist dispersed into nothingness, a breath that had been exhaled, and the light on Sasuke's skin faded to reveal only the dark tattoo that had lay beneath them.

"Good question, Kiba." Naruto said hoarsely, both turning around. Sasuke's bandages had unraveled, revealing unblemished, uninjured skin. "But since when could people float?"

The furniture dropped to the floor.

"I need a fucking drink." Kiba griped. Naruto couldn't agree more as he fell to the ground, Kiba sliding along with him, the two of them wired and conquered, exhausted yet vigilant as Sasuke continued to sleep peacefully, oblivious. Neither of them noticing the hooded figure, watching the two of them from outside.

* * *

A ring-back tone was a welcome reminder to Naruto that, even in all the strangeness, there existed some normalcy.

"Good afternoon! Egyptian Antiquities Organisation, this is Ino Yamanaka speaking, how may I direct your call?"

Naruto cradled the phone under his chin, trying to smooth the creases of paper that had been balled up in his pocket for over forty-eight hours. Hinata's penmanship was beautiful and elegant, but Naruto had always struggled to read cursive. He narrowed his eyes at the smudged ink, his tone quizzical.

"I'm, uh, hoping to speak with a _Rock_ Lee? Did I say that right?"

The women on the other end of the line made a noise of understanding. "Secretary General Lee only accepts direct calls from close acquaintances and those who have scheduled appointments. Have you set up an appointment, sir?"

"Ehrm, no," Naruto told her honestly, taken aback. He hadn't realized Hinata's friend was the Secretary General of investigating artifacts. He anticipated a dial tone as he rummaged his mind for an explanation, hoping just mentioning his name might be enough. "But he's expecting a call from me, I think? I was supposed to meet him at your location but a...uhrm, a few things came up. I'm calling now because I need to speak with him urgently."

"Name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Please hold."

Classical music filtered from the receiver. Naruto sighed tiredly, knowing that he would probably be on hold for a while. He glanced at Kiba. The brunet hadn't slept since the _incident_ , having just sat on the living room sofa until daybreak, muttering sacred hymns. Every so often he'd pick up a rosary bead, say a little prayer there, then in that same breath pick up a Misbaha, mutter some more, and _look_ , there's the star of David.

Naruto shook his head despairingly.

"Mr. Uzumaki?" Ino asked, the music coming off abruptly. "I'm going to transfer your call to Secretary General Lee now."

"Oh! Awesome. Thanks," Naruto said, stifling a yawn. There was a few seconds pause before a click sounded, and a vibrant, energetic voice cheerfully ululated through the phone.

"Greetings, Naruto!" The blond was startled awake by the other man's spirited reception, the energy strangely infectious. He could feel his smile through the receiver.

"This is Rock Lee, Secretary General of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization. It is nice to finally speak with you. Hinata has spoken to me on your behalf, and I must say, they have all been pleasant things! How are you on this very auspicious evening? It would be a waste stay inside on this youthful day, would it not?"

Naruto's lips quirked into a smile.

Talk about bright.

"Ehrm, it sure would. How are you today?"

"Most fantastic, my friend!" Lee delivered, gleefully. "Everyday is a day worth celebrating under this magnificent, rich sun. In fact, I just came back from enjoying a vigorous run across the Al Ibrahimiyyah beach front, enjoying the rich smells of the Nile and Egypt's boisterous, bustling market! It was a most marvelous time!"

"Haha, that's great! Sounds like a blast."

"It most certainly was!"

Naruto bit his lip, not sure how to begin. He felt a little bad that he had to cut to the chase here, not wanting to ruin the other man's mood. He was just pressed for time.

If this were under different circumstances, Naruto could see Lee as someone he would get along with. He seemed to be inherently merry, polite. And Naruto was happy that Hinata had made friends with someone so good-natured, remembering all the times Neji complained about his questionable habits, wishing that his cousin would hang out with someone who was more sensible.

This guy obviously had a good head on his shoulders, and he must have been culpable enough to become the head of the artifact recovery department at such a young age.

It might have been his personality, but Lee sounded like he was barely twenty.

"Naruto?" Lee asked, piercing Naruto's train of thought. "Are you still present?"

"Ah, yes! S'rry," Naruto apologized, scratching the back of his head. "I zoned out there for a sec. I haven't gotten much sleep lately."

For obvious reasons.

"That is most okay! I apologize for not getting, 'down to business,' as one might put it." Naruto suppressed a grin at the others unusual formality, wondering if Lee always talked that way.

"I understand that you did not wish to call to discuss Egypt's fantastic commodities. Hinata has informed me that you would call to inquire about the purchaser of an illegally obtained artifact, one that was unfortunately acquired from your last excavation. Am I correct in my assumption?"

Naruto frowned as he remembered the dagger, slipping into Sasuke's satchel. "Yeah, you are."

"Well, as you may or may not know, a trafficker going by the name of Kabuto Yakushi has become something of a person of interest to my department. I regret to inform you, Naruto, that this man is the one who ordered the removal of Awrutshimaru's dagger from your dig site. Have you been made aware of this?"

"I have, recently." Naruto found himself pressing the phone closer to his ear at the mention of Kabuto's name, his expression grim. "About a day ago I found out his name."

"I see." Lee said, sounding contrite. "Then it is safe of me to speculate that you want to know more about Mr. Yakushi. Is that right?"

He nodded his head, even though Lee couldn't see it.

"That's right." Naruto said, voice gruff.

"I understand," Lee continued to speak, empathetic, papers rustling from the other end. "However, Naruto, the information that I have on Mr. Yakushi is not something that I can discuss over the phone. I am sorry if it is an inconvenience to you, but it is my sincerest hope that we can meet in person to continue this further. Do you have time today, perhaps, to meet with me?"

"Today?" Naruto asked, surprised. He lucked out, but he never imagined Lee would go out of his way to meet with him so soon. Yet Lee was proving to be the accommodating type, even for a complete stranger. Naruto didn't suppress the smile on his lips, stunned beyond belief and indebted. "Are you sure about that? I don't want to take up your time or anything."

"No, no. Not at all! It would be an honor to meet you, Naruto, as Hinata has expressed you are a fantastic individual with a big heart. It would truly be my pleasure to see you, and discuss this confidential information with a non-alcoholic beverage. Is Al Mamurah a good place to converge? We can meet in the Jabha Lutis tavern at five o' clock!"

"Yeah, that sounds great!"

"Then I shall see you then." Naruto smiled and hung up, placing the receiver back in its cradle. He guessed he should get ready. Al Mamurah was a bit of a walk, and Naruto wanted to stop by the pharmacy on his way there to get a medical kit in case Sasuke was afflicted with another fever again. The last time he checked, Sasuke was looking a lot healthier than he did before his hair-raising, eerie performance, even getting some color to his cheeks. There was no telling if that would all change, though.

Sasuke may be fine now, but after what happened Naruto knew that his condition was susceptible to drastic changes. He still couldn't shake what he saw from his mind. The light penetrating the house, drilling into the dawning sky. Naruto was still seeing spots of color from the glare of it, his vision not thoroughly what it used to be.

"Leavin' to help Sasuke, huh? That's his name, right?"

Naruto looked over his shoulder. Kiba had finally stopped beseeching multiple gods to regard him with a deep creased frown, bouncing his leg. Naruto hung his head, realizing what was probably coming. He wouldn't blame Kiba for kicking him out. After everything, Naruto was surprised Kiba hadn't called the local mosque on him for summoning the spirits of the damned, what with the hovering furniture and all. He should leave. That much was obvious. He'd caused enough trouble, and Kiba probably wouldn't mind taking Kurama for a while until he figured things out.

Naruto just didn't look forward to how difficult it was going to be to find a place. He hadn't had time to shower, and Sasuke was still unconscious. Too many people would ask questions. Then there were the weapons in their bags, the questionable nature of two men, sharing a hostel. Naruto wasn't ready to face any of that yet. He needed to clean himself up before he met Lee in three hours, and it would be a miracle if he did that and found lodgings before he saw Lee in the Lutis tavern.

"You've seriously brought a shit storm here, dude." Kiba said, looking around at his mucked up house, and Naruto prepared himself for the inevitable _get out of here,_ knowing that it was completely justified. He fisted the paper in his hand.

Instead of jabbing his thumb at the front door, Kiba gestured with it behind him, at his animal consultation room. Naruto stared at him confusedly, glancing at it and back again. Kiba's mouth extended into a shit eating grin, an impish glint in his fatigued, copper eyes, and Naruto expressed his relief with a mirroring simper.

"If the spawn of Satan returns while you're gone, I get to shoot his ass at least once with my tranquilizer gun."

With what they'd dealt with, Naruto did him one better.

"You can blast him _twice."_


	9. Chapter 9: First Impressions

**A/N:**

The art for this chapter was done by the amazing Ree at sketchfoo. ( **Only available on AO3)**  
If you want to see the INCREDIBLE sketches done by my good friend, Theatrical placenta, who designed Gaara, Naruto, and SASUKE'S new outfits for the future, you can find them on my word press. Now onward!

* * *

 **Chapter Nine:** First Impressions

* * *

Finding something decent to wear, something that didn't smell like the back end of a musty stray, proved to be more of a challenge then bringing Sasuke down during his Salem witch trial moment. Naruto wondered if Kiba's clientele ever noticed his poor hygiene, or if they were simply too focused on their distressed pets to care as he turned his head away from the closet, nose scrunched at the smell of feces on the shirt he held.

"Do you _ever_ wash any of these?" Naruto grumbled, tossing the offending article behind him.

Kiba was sitting on a chair in the bedroom, too busy loading his tranquilizer gun with a hypodermic needle to answer with anything but his middle finger.

Sasuke was still asleep on Kiba's bed, and it didn't look like he'd be waking up soon; but Kiba had a right to be cautious. Like Naruto had seen earlier, Sasuke's wounds had completely healed. He thought he'd been imagining things when the light that seamlessly perforated the ceiling had dispersed, leaving nothing but clear, smooth alabaster skin. However, he had looked over Sasuke's body multiple times, and no matter how much Naruto stretched and kneaded the skin, he would still come to the same disturbing conclusion.

The bleeding gashes that Sakura dressed were absent, and Naruto's mind reeled over the several how's and _why's._

It would be stupid to sit around and drive himself crazy over it. Of course he knew that, since whatever he was dealing with was beyond reason. Naruto just wished he could shake the feeling of unease that had washed over him from when that ray of light shot into the sky. Even if Kiba was fine with allowing them to stay a few more days, they couldn't be the only ones who'd witnessed the bizarre spectacle. It may have drawn unnecessary attention towards themselves, and Naruto feared it wasn't the good kind.

He chewed on his bottom lip.

Finding a hostel after his meet up with Lee would be a good call after all, critical looks be damned. Long done with standing around in nothing but a woolly towel, Naruto seized something tolerable from Kiba's mess. He pulled on one of Kiba's white tee's over his head, and slipped on dark brown khakis and a tan vest. He bent down to pick up his satchel, casting a quick look at Sasuke's where the ancient dagger was sticking out, gleaming ominously.

"I'm heading out, Kiba," Naruto said after a brief pause, contemplative. "You… you gonna be okay by yourself?"

Kiba raised an eyebrow, waving his gun around like the answer should be obvious.

"I'll be fine, if _he_ is." He grunted, skewering Sasuke with his irritated iris's. "How long do I gotta be alone with Houdini over here?"

"I don't know, Kib's, an hour?" Naruto scratched his cheek. He wasn't sure how long it would take, but he should be back before it gets too dark. "It depends on how much he knows about Kabuto."

"Ka-bah- _who?_ " Kiba narrowed his eyes, rolling the name against the roof of his mouth.

Naruto didn't answer, already developing a migraine thinking about explaining it all. His gaze lingered on the dagger, unable to look away from the mystical item idly lying on Kiba's bedroom floor. He hadn't developed any weird markings like Sasuke since he touched the artifact, or gotten sick yet. Naruto knew it was too soon to make a conclusion, but it seemed that the curse Sasuke was under had only been meant for one person, and the daggers effects were possibly null to anyone else. He wasn't sure.

In spite of the warm light when he'd touched it, it seemed harmless now.

Kiba followed Naruto's eyes to Sasuke and back again, noticing the archaeologists teeth were clenched, hands balled at his sides.

"Kiba, while I'm gone _don't_ touch the dagger. That's why Sasuke is the way he is now..." Naruto stated, his voice hoarse. If that were true, if the curse only affected one person, Sasuke saved him, didn't he? Even though it hadn't been intentional, Sasuke was lying here like this because he had touched the cursed item first, right?

A week ago, a scenario like this would have seemed like deserved karma. Naruto would have laughed gleefully at the prospect of Sasuke getting cursed, because for years he's wished the Plagues of Egypt on the guy. Yet Naruto never truly wished, even once, for Sasuke's life to be in danger like this.

Even when they'd face off underground, exchanging bullets and blood and _spit,_ Naruto never aimed to kill, and he had a feeling neither did Sasuke. After seeing the pain Sasuke was going through, Naruto knew that he should feel grateful. If it weren't for Sasuke, he would have been afflicted by whatever was ailing the thief now. Lying stark still in a bed, comatose.

Sasuke was stronger than he could ever be.

"I'll be back, Kiba." Naruto promised, and he briskly walked towards Sasuke's limp form and pressed his knee into the mattress, causing it to dip. Tentatively, he leaned down and pressed his forehead to Sasuke's pale one, closing his eyes. A long time ago, this same gesture helped him deal with the loss of his parents. It reached him in a place where he needed it most. Naruto's eyelashes fluttered open, brushing against Sasuke's cheek as he quietly breathed, "...believe in me."

And he hoped that just like back then, Sasuke would feel compelled to surrender to it, too.

* * *

The Jabha Lutis Tavern was a quaint thing by the river Nile, smelling pleasantly of _Koshari_ and _Fetir Meshaltet_. The restaurant faced the glistening water, the setting sun bathing it in a sheen of gold. Naruto sat down at the table he was guided over to and turned his head to briefly face the sky, letting the warmth wash over his cheeks, filling him with a brief, indescribable calm amidst the seemingly interminable chaos.

Since he'd gotten the phone call, all he could think about was Kabuto, wondering exactly what information Lee had that couldn't be discussed over the phone. Naruto couldn't help but feel considerably anxious being out in the open like this, wary of his surroundings after Anko's assault. Lee's hesitance to discuss the source of all his recent misfortunes only heightened that paranoia. It's true that his nerves were still on edge, recovering from the shock of the magical explosion from yesterday. But Naruto found it difficult to shake the sneaking suspicion that he was being watched.

"Naruto?" A voice politely called out to him. "May I be so bold as to inquire if that is you?"

Naruto looked for the source, face gradually contorting with bizarre fascination. He never asked Lee for a description of himself, so he thought that it would be difficult to identify the man by anything but his interesting rhetoric. However, he was dead wrong as a man bounded towards him from the Tavern restroom, teeth blindingly white in an apologetic smile, clad in a silk green dress shirt with matching pants to boot. It gave Naruto the impression of someone colorblind, though it was hard to shy away from the fashion disaster.

Lee was not at all what Naruto imagined the Secretary General of Antiquities to look like.

"It is! My eyes do not deceive me. It is a pleasure, Naruto Uzumaki!" A strong hand reached out to shake his vigorously, black bowl cut and owlish eyes, framed by long lashes, dilating excitedly. "I am Rock Lee. Thank you so much for meeting me here on this wondrous evening! I apologize for my tardiness, as I had to use the facilities before we conversed. Wow! I must say, you are as handsome as Hinata so often describes you!"

"Haha. Th-Thanks?" Naruto stammered, his cheeks burning at the last part Lee practically screamed. Naruto glanced around, not surprised to see people staring at them. He gestured for the General to sit down lest the ground shake from his passion alone. Lee took a seat, though not after a few more rough jerks of Naruto's hand _—_ which he was _sure_ cracked his spine. "It's nice to meet you too. Er, I appreciate you taking the time to see me so soon and all, what with how busy you are."

"I am never too busy for friends! Though I must admit, I have been interested in meeting you for quite some time. I have heard many tales of you and your gallant work," Lee began, taking a napkin from the table and folding it neatly over his lap. Naruto mimicked the table etiquette awkwardly, out of courtesy.

"Aside from being a most brilliant companion, you are a most gifted archaeologist! It is indeed an honor to finally be acquainted with you, as you have done me, and Egypt, a great service these past few years with your many finds."

"Really, it's no biggie." Naruto told him, positively flushed from his ears down to his neck. There was something about Lee's earnestness that was borderline embarrassing. "I just run my hands through dirt for fun. It's your organization that does all the grunt work, yanno?"

Naruto wasn't being humble. The Egyptian Antiquities Organisation developed the policies that kept excavating from turning into a total shit show. If it weren't for them, anyone could dig up a grave _—_ like Sasuke _—_ and call themselves an archaeologist. They set the boundaries for excavators, and were a huge, growing force in the conservation of artifacts; which is why, outside the Hyuga Museum, their logo could be seen on both sides of the Egyptian flag.

"You guys are the real heroes here."

"That is _very_ kind of you to say," Lee expressed with a gentle smile. "However, Naruto, our success is widely attributed to the conscientious actions of youthful individuals like you, who believe in the importance of protecting history. If it were not for beings such as yourself, we would have lost more pieces to mishandling long ago."

"Well, I do my best," Naruto muttered, giving Lee a half-grin, because sometimes his best wasn't enough. Sasuke wasn't the only grave robber who's given him trouble over the years. Like many other archaeologists who'd turn up at a looted dig, coming up empty handed was a hardship that was both disappointing and trying on his patience. "As an archaeologist, time is both your enemy and your ally. That's what my Dad always used to preach at the dinner table."

"Words of a wise man indeed." Lee acknowledged, leaning forward with his elbows on the table and his head propped up on his hands. "With that said… while we at the organization have been working to strengthen our regulations, I must inform you that we still have our fair share of work to do in _our_ race against time."

Lee paused then, reaching under the table. Naruto didn't expect to hear a soft _click_ , nor did he expect to see that there was a briefcase beneath the tablecloth this entire time, being unlatched. As Lee snapped it open, he brought out a set of documents. Naruto didn't miss the flash of Kabuto's name on one of them, and his shoulders squared subconsciously, muscles tense.

"The illegal deportation of goods through corruption and deceit is a growing problem… one, which I have met you here, to discuss," Lee continued, though not before snapping his fingers and gesturing for their waitress to come over. His smile, having waned only slightly from the solemnity of the topic, was momentarily rekindled. "Ah, I almost forgot to ask. Would you like something to eat while we are here? Do not worry about the price. It is on me."

"I'll just have water, but thanks," Naruto told him, as hungry as he was. It was hard to stomach anything when he was too busy trying to digest his current reality. His glare burned on Kabuto's name, partly covered by Lee's arm as he ordered Baladi bread. After a moment that felt like an eternity, Lee whispered something into their hosts ear. The waitress smiled, then disappeared.

Naruto witnessed the very few customers who had been eating near them move further away.

"This is sensitive information, you must understand." Lee's gaze held his, sliding the documents towards him. Naruto reached for them with deliberate slowness, nodding his head. "I have acquired this compilation from a very good friend who works in the police department. There are not many trustworthy individuals in Egypt this days."

Sai's irritating smile made a momentary appearance in his peripheral.

"You could say that again." Naruto growled, trying and failing not to get irritated just thinking about him.

His fingers pressed into the paper. He cautiously looked down, preparing himself mentally for what he was about to see. He'd forged images in his head about what this mysterious buyer looked like since Sasuke's first colorful episode in his apartment. What with all that's happened, his idea of Kabuto was _interesting_ to say the least, none of them being _normal_ that's for sure. That's why he was disturbed to see a average joe peering back at him.

Before him was a photograph of Kabuto _—_ no glowing eyes or snake's tongue _—_ in a black suit. He wore black rimmed, circular glasses, covered by ash-gray bangs, and his dark orbs bore into the camera's lenses with an almost arrogant simper. Naruto noticed the smirk on his face and fought the urge to slam his fist into the sheet where it was.

This was the fucker who'd turned his world upside down.

"Kabuto Yakushi is thirty-seven years old. He grew up in an orphanage east of Cairo," Lee began to relay out loud. Naruto rapidly scanned the contents of the sheet, each syllable leaving an imprint in his mind. Extortion. _Murder._ Illegal digs. _Human trafficking._ These words jumped out at Naruto as he flipped through each page, listening to Lee with muted dread.

"When he turned seventeen, he married a Ms. Tori Sawiri. Her brother, Medo Sawiri, owned nearly all the casinos in Cairo and Sharm el Sheikh."

"A power play." Naruto noted, grimacing as Lee nodded his head.

"In '82, Medo committed suicide. Since then he has left everything to Mr. Yakushi, but the police suspect foul play was involved in Medo's death. They believe his will was forged, however..."

"There wasn't enough evidence, and Kabuto inherits the money and the legacy of one of Egypt's wealthiest entrepreneurs." Naruto finished for him, already reading between the lines. He pulled out the next page, his eyes widening as he jabbed his finger at the statement. "A couple of months later Tori kills herself too, out of grief? Are you fucking kidding me? This looks like something out of a bad movie."

"Except it is not. Mr. Yakushi is now one of the richest men in Egypt and as such, has used his money and influence for… un-youthful activities," Lee stated gravely, his lips pursed into a thin line. Naruto carded his hands together, brows furrowing with aggravation. "Naruto, our organization has tracked over one hundred illegally exported artifacts back to Mr. Yakushi. They were all acquired by employed grave robbers, just like the one you encountered. But we have been unable to take any action against him. In spite of the overwhelming evidence, the reports I have made never make it to the Ministry of Interior. I fear that he has paid off prominent law enforcement officials, and thus made it difficult for even I to reach him."

That wasn't even the half of it as Naruto read through the documents, the bile in his throat rising with each sentence. This Kabuto asshole was suspected of using his Casino's as a front for sex trafficking. Then there were the unlicensed excavations in Thebes to the careless pandering of ancient pottery and brooches in local bazaars. Naruto was sure his parents would be rolling in their graves next to Howard Carter if they read all the shit this guy was doing. His entire being was screaming bloody murder.

"He _can't_ get away with this." Naruto couldn't believe this had been going on for so long. Over one-hundred artifacts were stolen from their graves by some well-heeled prick with wads of cash crammed up his ass, and he didn't even get his hands dirty doing it? "There's no way to stop this guy?"

"Not _yet,_ " Lee stated, but a large smile grew on his face. "However, I am confident that all that will change. I refuse to let this injustice go on any further, not while I am in charge. I am even working with an officer who is helping me expose Kabuto's misdeeds. Until then, I just wanted to keep you informed."

"Informed is one way to put it." If Naruto were being honest, he felt more pissed off than enlightened. As much as all this information would be helpful under normal circumstances, that still didn't give him the insight he needed. Sasuke was _still_ cursed, and Kabuto was _still_ after him. Unfortunately, there was nothing on Lee's sheets of paper that made sense of any of it.

"I feared that discussing this over the phone would not be wise, as he has proven to have ears everywhere." Naruto snapped his head back up from the table, not attempting to hide the god awful grimace that had snaked across his features. "You look disappointed, Naruto."

Of course he was disappointed.

He came out here hoping to find an explanation for what's been happening lately, and he still had squat. Naruto supposed he should have expected as much. While Lee was looking for ways to bust Kabuto for crimes like theft and blackmail, Naruto was squinting to find something of a less mundane, otherworldly nature. He was still at square one, and Naruto hated this feeling of powerlessness. He didn't know what to do anymore...

"Ah, no… It's nothing. I'm just trying to let it all sink in." Naruto mumbled, taking a sip of his water to wash away the bitter taste in his mouth. Could he help Sasuke like this? He had absolutely nothing to go on. Naruto was blind here, stumbling through the dark without a cane or a clue.

Still, Lee came all the way to meet him just to warn the archaeologist and put some of his fears at ease. He was a good guy, and Naruto wouldn't be rude and act as though this conversation was a complete waste of time. He did learn a few things, albeit they weren't what he'd hoped for. Naruto sighed and handed the papers back to Lee. He stood up and extended his arm to shake Lee's hand in thanks, feigning relief. He owed him that much.

"Thank you," Naruto said, quirking his lips to the side, trying not to make it seem strained. "I feel better knowing you're on the case."

"You are very welcome, Naruto." Lee pounded his chest once, vigorously shaking his head. "I will keep you updated on how things proceed, though it will be a most arduous task. I promise I will retrieve that dagger for you. Mark my words!"

Naruto chuckled. He could tell that Lee was serious about his promises, and he almost pitied Kabuto in that split second for having to go toe-to-toe with Lee's unshakable determination. Naruto wondered, in that instant, if he should tell Lee he had the dagger. But after looking at Lee's blinding smile, he decided against it, not wanting to get this genuinely good guy wrapped up in his mess. Kiba was traumatized as it was. The last thing he wanted to do was scare the Secretary General for life.

Naruto bowed his head as he waved goodbye. He watched Lee disappear in the opposite direction of him, flailing his arms the entire way with energized enthusiasm. Even if he hadn't walked out of the Tavern with the information he needed, Naruto knew he'd forged a friendship in its stead. And that made the setback just a little bit easier to stomach.

* * *

The knot that had started to form in Naruto's gut tightened as he turned down an alleyway, the soles of his shoes pounding the pavement and echoing in the dead air.

The sun was beginning to disappear behind a sheet of clouds, and Naruto quickened his pace, wondering if he'd make it back home before dark. He imagined what he might come back to when he arrived at Kiba's: Sasuke's body, lying in repose. Naruto tripped on his own feet at the disturbing thought, cursing softly when his dirtied palms met the alley wall with a rough _slap._

This wasn't like him at all.

As he attempted to steady himself, he stiffened at the sound of feet scuffling behind him, unsure what it was that was causing the unease within him to grow, but he'd learned a long time ago to listen to his instincts. He turned around, only to see an empty trash can and an even emptier corridor. Naruto grumbled under his breath. Maybe he was losing his touch as he was coming to grips with his piss poor decision earlier. He should have taken Lee's offer to eat, because being tired and hungry was making him paranoid.

The footfalls he'd heard grew louder.

Naruto squinted in the direction he was scrutinizing with new awareness. It hadn't been his imagination after all. There were people coming. But were they locals? He wasn't the only one who took this path, so it wouldn't be a stretch. However, that theory was quickly shot down when the approaching feet were accompanied by rough, malevolent voices, all of them shouting one thing:

"There he is!"

Naruto took off into a sprint.

He raced down the narrow passageway, biting his lip as the people behind him picked up speed. Naruto wondered if Anko had tracked him down. And if she did, did she know where Sasuke was? Were Sasuke and Kiba in danger? That thought in itself only propelled Naruto forward as he rushed down the nearest corridor, skidding to a stop. _Right or left?_

He was disoriented. Naruto needed to get to Kiba fast _—_ but he realized that before that, he needed to shake whoever these guys were off of him. Naruto's jaw clenched as he headed left, in the opposite direction of Kiba's place. The screaming only grew louder as a woman who sounded much different than Anko told him that it was _no use_ ; and it wasn't playful like the intruder who'd broken into his apartment, but deprecating. Having an undertone that alluded to Naruto's misery if he were to be caught.

"Stop running, it'll only make things worse for you, man!" A male voice this time shouted after him. Naruto looked behind him just once, hoping to catch a quick glimpse of his pursuers.

That brief moment was all it took for Naruto to be sent flying back onto the floor as he collided headfirst into something heavier, more imposing. Naruto was dazed when he realized that the ones who had chased him had somehow ended up in _front_ of him, and he looked up slowly. His jaw went slack as he took in the sight of the massive figure, trying not to seem as intimidated as he felt.

The guy he'd knocked into was _huge_.

Well, huge was an understatement. This dude had to be at least six-foot-four and five hundred pounds, peering down at Naruto with the blankest expression he's ever seen. He had fair skin and slanted, salmon colored eyes. An orange Mohawk stuck out in the middle of his head, with two similar barbs jutting out on either side of him, and Naruto gulped out loud when the stern faced fatso cracked his bulbous knuckles threateningly.

"Found you…"

Naruto scrambled to a stand.

He parted his legs, defensive, noticing the others revealing themselves from behind the colossal giant. The next person was darker-skinned with his black, shaggy hair, tied into a ponytail. His alarming coal eyes gave Naruto a once over, and a smirk crossed his thin lips as he waved lightly. "Yo."

He was the second tallest of the four, while the other two were about the same height, standing close to one another. A smaller, petite man and woman stepped into the limelight, the palest with dark blue hair grinning slyly through long bangs, covering one eye. He wore a dark green shade of lipstick, with equally dull markings around his eyes to give him an androgynous appearance. The girl next to him was the opposite, with flaming red hair and bandages wrapped around her calves.

They were all donning matching tunics and equally matching sharp, bone daggers. The hulking mammoth was the first to step towards him. Naruto glared as the blunt side of his assailants weapon was held vehemently towards his throat.

"My name is Jirobo." His captor told him, glancing at his other three companions. "That is Kidomaru, Sakon, and Tayuya. We have been hired to retrieve the Uchiha boy… and you will tell us where he is." Jirobo commanded, his booming voice strong enough to pierce Naruto's ear drums and shatter them. Naruto dry laughed, understanding how thoroughly _screwed_ he was. In spite of the unfavorable odds, he continued to chuckle, the sound hollow and disparaging in defiance of the confidence he was exuding.

"Fuck. You." He spat, his glare practically burning holes into each one of them. "I'm not taking you guys anywhere."

The one called Kidomaru sneered at him, finding his bravery as foolish as the situation deemed it to be. In a flash, Naruto was being slammed against the wall by his hair by Jirobo, his scream catching in his throat when Kidomaru joined the larger man to smash his knee into his stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him. Naruto was a rag doll, powerless to this guy's monstrous size. He was tossed harshly to the ground, and he scrambled to stand with barely enough time to block the women's kick with his forearms when she raised her knee and snapped it forward quickly. The force of it had Naruto veering back, the friction searing the bottom of his shoes.

"It wasn't a choice." Tayuya snorted, lunging for him with her knife. Naruto dodged back, and he reached into his satchel with a dry heave, hoping to pull out his own dagger. He grasped _nothing._ He was in such a rush to meet Lee this afternoon that he forgot to check that all his weapons were in his bag. _Shit._

"You do _know_ what we'll do to you, don't you?!" Tayuya shrilled manically, her grin feral as she stepped closer, her hair whipping behind her like some tattered, blood soaked sheet put out to dry. "I'm not like the last _failure._ If you don't take us to Uchiha I'll slit your throat. Hahaha, and we'll _drag_ you through the neighborhood until we find him."

The others were starting to gather around Naruto, forming a tight circle. Tayuya made a move for his abdomen, the sharp edge of her knife tearing through Kiba's shirt and puncturing his side. Naruto held back a pained hiss as it retracted, not having went in too deep, but just enough so it caused a searing pain to surge through him. This was _bad—_ Naruto's eyes narrowly searched for an opening. This was _really bad,_ and he was definitely all kinds of fucked if he didn't get out of dodge soon.

The archeologist knew there was no way he could take these four at once. He was trained in combat, sure, but not against this many people. So Naruto scrunched his brows together, preparing himself for what he was about to do. When Tayuya rushed for him again, Naruto didn't waste another minute debating the impossibilities of the fight. He jumped to the side and used the force of his body to push back against the leanest of the four, quickly driving through the space he created. He sprinted for the direction he originally came and turned into an unknown path. Ignoring the calls for him to stop. Completely tuning out Jirobo's labored breathing as his mind raced, trying to figure out where he was supposed to go and what the _fuck_ he was supposed to do.

"Crap, crap, crap…!" Naruto wasn't a fan of hiding, but it seemed like that would be his best option here, at least until he got a better vantage point to take these assholes down. He climbed down a set of stairs that lead to another back alley and rounded another corner, and then _another_.

"You CAN'T run from us!"

He sure as hell would try.

Naruto sucked in a breath as he flew over another assortment of steps, noticing a narrow space separating two decrepit shacks. He'd only seen this kind of scenario in movies, always wondering why the assailants didn't notice the hero sandwiched between a wall, counting his blessings _—_ and now here he was, about to do the same thing. Panic worked miracles as Naruto somehow, by the grace of Ra, managed to make himself smaller. He narrowly wedged into the space, heart jack hammering against his ribs, making it difficult to distinguish the pounding of feet from the pounding of his chest when Kabuto's goons raced to where he was.

They ran past him, barely missing his sigh of relief.

"Holy _shit…"_ The joy Naruto felt was indescribable. But he wasn't out of the dog house just yet. Naruto let out another breath he'd been holding and pressed his forehead against the cool wall, relishing in the temperature. His face was on _fire_ here. As much as he loved a great adventure, this was different from reading a story, or watching a movie at the cinema. Being the protagonist in his own perilous fight scene was physically taxing, and he was damn sure he was seconds away from having a heart attack.

Naruto waited just a few more minutes before inching his way out of the space, stumbling into the middle of the alley. Now he needed to find his way back to Kiba's and warn him _—_ that is, if one of Kabuto's lackeys hadn't already reached him first.

"You never change." A low, guttural voice came from behind him, startling him.

Naruto spun around to see that a man, who looked slightly younger than himself, was peering at him from behind an ashen cloak and short, crimson hair. The stranger was leaning against the bedraggled wall with a peculiar look on his face, intense green eyes without any distinctive pupils focusing in. He had dark rings around them, making it difficult to perceive if they were from insomnia or eyeliner. But as the man stepped closer, Naruto was forced to take an instinctive step back, unsure.

Naruto didn't know how he got there. He hadn't heard anyone else come through, but this person didn't seem hostile, just... careful. _Observant._ Which was honestly far more intimidating than point blank animosity.

The man wasn't dressed the same as Kabuto's hired assassin's. He was... _different—_ donning low-silk baggy pants and a tight sleeveless cotton shirt that further enhanced his toned muscles. One arm, Naruto noticed, was covered in an elaborate Egyptian tattoo, making him seem rugged. _Intense._ And Naruto noticed that on the left side of the man's forehead the _Ankh_ symbol ran in black ink above his eye. This person carried himself with a firm fearlessness that stunned Naruto into silence; from the way he postured leisurely in front of him, to the way he mutely watched Naruto squirm. It made him decidedly someone Naruto never wanted to tangle with.

The blonde could only watch, strangely paralyzed, as the mysterious person closed the distance between them.

Golden cuff-lets were snapped across the man's wrists, and his mouth was partially concealed by a long scarf that reached his knees. It failed to mask, however, the cautious smile he offered as he got closer to him, a smile that quickly disappeared behind a veil of vacancy. "Far too long I've waited…"

"What…" Naruto was having trouble forming syllables, caught off guard by the surreal atmosphere this person was creating. There was that _feeling_ again. It was the same feeling that crippled him in Awrutshimaru's tomb, and the same feeling that stole his breath along with Sasuke's scalding kiss. Naruto's head was all mussed up the longer he looked at this person, his vision tunneling in and out of focus. They were meeting for the first time but he looked almost… _familiar. How was that possible?_

"Who… who are you?"

The man's eyes flashed with covert amusement, a stark contrast to his lackluster facial expression. Naruto wondered, dazedly, if he'd said something funny. His head was pounding, all of a sudden.

"Gaara," came the answer. The name resonated _powerfully._ He barely had time to process a response when Gaara reached behind him, into his cloak. Naruto's azure orbs grew doubly in size when he noticed a large sickle sword being unsheathed. Gaara simply turned around and held the sword in front of him, eerily composed. It was then that Naruto heard the noises of other people approaching them.

"Stay behind me," Gaara told him, leaving no room for argument. "And Naruto… It's good to see you."

* * *

 **CN:** Thanks for reading ! I leave for the UK in a few days so it's been hectic getting this up.

I hope to get some awesome research done at the British Museum down there, as they have one of the largest Egyptian collections outside of Egypt. Updates might be spotty for just a month or two, as my time clock will be off and I'll be trying to get acclimated to living there til the end of my abroad studies, but I hope you'll all be patient with me! Traveling to another country, assimilating with the culture and learning new things has always been my goal, so this is very exciting for me! A dream come true, admittedly, and I'm eager to use what I see abroad in future stories.

Keep your fingers crossed that I don't wind up getting lost? I'm direction-ally challenged. Can't wait to update soon! As always, thanks for sticking with me on this journey!


	10. Chapter 10: In Motion

**A/N:** Hello everyone! BIG ANNOUNCEMENT (I guess?) First off, thanks so much to TheatricalPlacenta for Beta-ing this weeks chapter! And thank you ALL for being so patient with me while I travel abroad. I'm now well adjusted in the UK, living my new life (at least for another month and a half) as an American and England, and have already been through so many new, amazing experiences. I've seen Poland, Italy, and within the next two months I'll be seeing France and Israel (all while juggling school?) But I'm VERY excited to share with you all that I'm going to Cairo this week! YES, I'M GOING TO EGYPT.

From attractions like the great Sphinx to the pyramids of Giza, I'll be traveling with my two best friends in Egypt for four days. I'll even be visiting the original Egyptian Museum of Antiquities (not owned by Neji Hyuga, unfortunately!) I'm sort of in awe that this worked out but, I worked my ass off for two years in the states to save up for these trips, so I feel really fulfilled. I leave for Cairo this weekend, and I hope to come back with stories to tell, and more inspiration to make this fic enjoyable and more accurate! I've been relying on research, but now I can use experience!

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 **Chapter Ten:** In Motion

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 **Cairo, Egypt  
** **Museum of Antiquities  
** **القاهرة  
** **18:32**

After years of working as the curator for the largest Museum in Egypt, it still amazed Neji that some people were incapable of reading signs.

Not that he expected these tourists to _know_ how to read. That would be implying they possessed a shred of intellect. A slither of common sense. But Neji at least hoped, since they were visiting an institution of knowledge, they would utilize what few brain cells they possessed to solve even the most basic tasks.

Neji tried to hide his frustration behind a smile.

Dressed in typical bright baseball caps and ill-fitting tees and shorts, the imbeciles in front of him had the gall to look confused as he gestured at the _clear_ exit doors behind them with a practiced ease, hoping to smoothly lead the rabble outside. Per his usual routine during closing time, Neji let out an exhausted sigh, tucking a stray hair behind his ear. The Museum had a busy day. Catching loiterers during the shutdown was a simple, yet dull task that demanded Neji's full attention. And while nothing had gone awry — his week had been a productive one — he found himself growing more irritated as the seconds ticked by.

He scanned the empty rooms. Briskly paced the dimming halls. Neji grimaced, hoping to catch a glimpse of barbed, blonde hair, and a cheeky grin trouncing toward him; however, Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

Neji should have expected as much. It had barely been three days, after all, and right about now the archaeologist was probably still seeking out that thief—the man Neji had gotten to know as Uchiha, the man that dictated nothing but his disgust.

He clicked his tongue, embittered as he traversed the steps up to the second floor. Just the name itself was unpalatable, leaving him feeling abnormally nauseous. It was like the very thought of the stranger he'd heard about between harsh breaths and clenched teeth filled his body with a disquieting sense of urgency. Confusion. Anxiety.  
 _._

 _._

 _Fear?_

Neji let out a breath he'd been holding, massaging his temple with his thumb and index finger. He barely registered he was hastening his steps, peering at each unattended room with receding interest. That thought he just had was _ridiculous_. Regardless of the stories he'd heard, the abilities of a petty thief did not agitate him. Rah knew how many of those existed in Cairo alone.

No, this sting was something else; dizzying, debilitating, it struck a nerve whenever Naruto spoke of Uchiha, even in deference. It was an emotion that transcended the altruism of a protective friend. It far overreached the envy of a scorned lover; what Neji felt was deeper, _darker,_ and misplaced.

Growing up with the Uzumaki's, Neji became well accustomed to Naruto's inherently impetuous nature.

Once his mind was set on something, or _someone,_ there was nothing Neji could do to change it—but that didn't mean the urge to try didn't _exist,_ nor stop him from subtly, but still presently, trying.

Neji desired him. Desired and burned and _ached_ like a dying man ached for water. His long time friend and family was an exemplary human being. From Naruto's body, which he'd coveted since puberty, to the archaeologist's brain, always hungry for knowledge, Neji wanted and wanted and _wanted_ to continue **_wanting_** until the Great Pyramid of Giza turned to dust.

He'd come close, once. That night in the museum - the night Naruto's parents perished, a sixteen year old Neji had been presented with the perfect opportunity. If he had only acted sooner, Neji knew that he could have used Naruto's vulnerability against him that evening. Naruto could have learned to depend on him. _Need him._ However underhanded the tactic, Neji could have slipped into the cracks in Naruto's heart to erase the void left behind; a hole he knew Naruto, even to this day, desperately desired to fill.

With Neji's help he could have soothed the ache of loss. Naruto could and would have chose him if he'd only been persistent.

If he'd only pushed.

Neji often couldn't help but wonder if he had, would things have turned out differently? Would Naruto no longer seek solace in the sand with him around as a supplement? Would Neji have been enough? Would he have mattered?

"Still so greedy, are we?"

His racing thoughts were punctured by a laugh. A massive chill, like he'd been doused with cold water, had him freeze midstep.

Neji followed the voice into the empty exhibition space on his left. There, where Awrutshimaru's sarcophagus was to be put on display, stood a man with ash-grey hair finely dressed in a navy seersucker suit. The man, bathed in the shadows of the dimly lit room, peered at him amusingly from behind black rimmed, circular glasses. Neji immediately found himself wincing.

"It amazes me, really." The man continued, smirking. "Three-thousand years pass, Egypt changes, yet we still remain _exactly_ the same? The God's sure lack… creativity."

Neji felt his stomach twist painfully, not knowing why he felt like he'd been viciously gutted from the waist down. Every muscle in his body was a tightly wound bowline. The longer he stared into the sharp eyes of the stranger the tenser he became. Eventually, it registered in Neji's brain that he was just standing there, stationary. He found it in himself to muster up a response to the odd statement.

"We're closed." Neji barely managed to say, frown lines marring his skin. He carefully rolled the next few syllables against the roof of his mouth first before trying again, not understanding why he felt so frazzled. "This room is off limits, sir. I'm going to need you to leave."

"Sir?" The stranger's eyes widened in mock surprise, another hollow chuckle leaving his throat. "That's new. We're friends… aren't we, Neji? You can drop the titles."

Neji knitted his brows together in concentration, perturbed. He gave the man a once over. Nothing registered, not even a semblance of familiarity.

"I've never seen you before in my life."

"In _this_ life." The man corrected him, shrugging his shoulders. Neji said nothing. "Ah, so I take it you don't remember? That's a shame. I thought this would be easy."

"You've lost me." Neji deadpanned, frowning as the smile on the others face grew. It was disturbing. He could feel his patience wane as he crossed his arms over his chest, head beginning to throb. He wasn't one to be easily antagonized, but this person was, for lack of a better word, _creepy._ Neji wanted this conversation to be over.

"You must have mistaken me for someone else." He continued, looking off to the side. "This is our first time meeting."

"I suppose. I'm sorry for wasting your _precious_ time. _"_

Sarcasm.

When this man used it, it was vexing.

"Not at all. Now, if I can assist you in finding your way," Neji replied, equally sardonic. He looked in the direction he came from, waiting for the person in front of him to start moving towards it. He was growing impatient. Uncomfortable. His foot tapped the floor, a clear signal that he was piqued. "The exit is that way. You have five minutes to leave the premises."

"Five? That's awfully generous of you." The stranger actually attempted to look like he was upset, his shoulders drooping. "But I hoped we could have a friendly chat. You see, I'm interested in discussing a business proposition with you."

"Well I'm not interested in discussing business with trespassers." Neji wasted no time in telling him coldly, his face rigid.

"Really?" A sneer. "That's awfully rude and... _unfortunate_ , because this trespasser wishes to be of service to this _fine_ establishment. I believe you should hear me out first before turning me away."

The man stepped out of the darkness, his steps panther-like and deliberate. A hand fished through a cotton pocket. The person found what he was looking for as he approached Neji with a business card, a light smile stretched across his pale face. Neji found himself reluctant to take it. But he wasn't Naruto and he wouldn't risk appearing childish simply because this man's very presence unnerved him.

"I'm sure you must have heard of me."

Neji glanced down at the paper in his hands, narrowing his eyes at the name in fine, gold print. _Kabuto Yakushi, President of Sawiri Resorts,_ it read. When he looked up, he found Kabuto's steely gaze trained on him, smile completely gone and replaced with something calculative.

"Are my credentials to your satisfaction?" Kabuto asked. Neji handed the card back to him, grimacing at the way the light reflected ominously off of the other's glasses. His fingers deftly brushed against Kabuto's on accident. His spine straightened.

"I run a few Casino's here in Cairo but at my core, I am a… _collector_ , of sorts, just like you. We have a lot in common."

"Somehow I doubt that."

Something dark flashed across the other's eyes.

"You'd be surprised with how similar we are." Kabuto remarked, offering a smirk. "I would even go as far as to say we're kindred spirits."

Neji didn't miss the way Kabuto's lips twitched up at the end of that sentence, as if he were suppressing a laugh at some private joke.

"Over the years, a certain number of antiquities have just _fallen_ into my possession. I have a lot to offer your esteemed museum, with pieces dating as far back as the Old Kingdom, and I've come to give them a proper home. If you'll accept my proposal, I'll bring them first thing tomorrow morning."

"At what cost?" Neji cut straight to the chase, narrowing his eyes. "Do you really expect me to believe you're donating artifacts out of the goodness of your heart? I'm well aware of the black market value on goods like these."

"Haha. My cost is something of very little consequence to you, I'm sure. "

"I would appreciate it, Mr. Yakushi, if you could be more specific."

"Kabuto is fine, _Neji."_ Neji didn't curtail his glare. He didn't like the way this man spoke his name. The pronunciation was wrong. _Breathy._ And personally, Neji was irked by the casual stance Kabuto took before him, as if they were friends from long ago. Kabuto continued to look lax.

"Again, what I present to you is an opportunity to draw visitors from around the globe. The only thing I ask for is a... _private_ viewing of that new Mummy of yours. Ah, what was his name? Awrutshimaru, was it?" Kabuto's grin was a harrowing attempt at appearing eager. It only managed to make him look insane. "I would be honored to view this _incredible_ new find before the general public does."

"That's all?"

"That's all." Kabuto acquiesced, grinning from ear to ear. "Surely you're used to offering guests backstage tours? Just five minutes with your wonderful new addition would be enough for me. Do we have a deal?"

Neji clenched his jaw.

In hindsight, what Kabuto was asking for was a small price to pay. If he indeed possessed a number of antiquities, as the curator, Neji knew he should be negotiating to ensure that they were in his care, working towards a solution so that these supposed artifacts could be preserved and studied. Instead, Neji's first instinct was to refuse this man. And while he rarely based his decisions on emotion alone, finding it belittling to come to judgement solely due to a gut feeling, he was tempted. Neji was driven by a force that far exceeded vexation, and he trusted it.

"I'm not interested." Neji told him, rolling back the cuffs of his sleeves. Whether it was to appear threatening or simply because of the heat, Neji knew the small gesture delivered a message nonetheless. He turned to walk away. "Two minutes, Mr. Yakushi, then security will be called. I have work to attend to, so please see yourself out."

He heard Kabuto laugh at his retreating form, his voice lilting and playful.

"You're making a mistake." Kabuto cooed after him. Neji struggled to ignore him, proceeding down the hall, towards the steps.

He was stopped by a hand tugging him backwards.

Neji nearly tripped on his feet, whipping head around to glare at Kabuto who was gripping his wrist tightly.

"Oh Neji, Neji, _Neji_... it's in your best interest to listen to me."

Neji breathed in slowly, unable to place his unprecedented rage _._ He wasn't one to be so easily goaded, yet his skin was bubbling and itchy whenever Kabuto spoke.

 _"_ I'll give you two days to change your mind."

"I'm not interested." Neji repeated, trying to shake him off. "Let. Go."

Kabuto glared, raising the corner of his upper lip. Neji was pulled away from the stairwell with unprecedented force, pushed against the railing separating the two floors.

His words were lodged in his throat when Kabuto's face was merely inches away from his own, twisted into a cynical, perverse grin. Neji's heart stuttered in his chest. He couldn't move. He could barely _breathe_. Kabuto hummed, trailing two fingers along Neji's paralyzed form, up his bicep, appearing contemplative. Neji trembled as he watched Kabuto's other hand dip into his pocket. "You're colder than you were before," Kabuto murmured, tilting his head to the side, "...more questioning, less… _compliant._ "

His nails dragged along the skin of Neji's forearm, tracing a pattern he couldn't distinguish. Neji's adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly. He was paralyzed. Why was he paralyzed? The man pulled out an item from his pocket, Neji catching the faint glint of a blue crystal before it was encased in Kabuto's pale palm.

Kabuto's hands were cold when they snaked up his ivory-tinted collarbone, entwining around his neck. The tips of the others fingers pressed into his yielding flesh, leaving an imprint. Neji didn't register the accessory, a necklace, against his skin until it was carefully fastened around him. His entire body became rigid on contact.

"I wouldn't bother struggling against it, if I were you." Kabuto sneered. He stepped away, and Neji felt himself collapsing to the floor. "You should remember what's important soon. I would give it a day."

The pendant around his neck felt heavy.

His heart _hurt._

Neji hissed in pain as the crystal glowed, more brightly this time, and Kabuto loomed over him.

"I'm sure Naruto would be sad to know that you left that necklace behind. It meant a lot to him, if I recall correctly. Haha, but it's been nearly three-thousand years, my memory just isn't what it used to be. I'm getting _so old!_ " Neji closed his eyes, trying to block Kabuto's voice out. And he panted. Viciously, like an animal, his chest wildly heaved. Vainly gripping the amulet with sweaty palms, he tried to cleave it off with sheer force alone. No matter what he did, it wouldn't come loose, and the longer his hands touched the piece of jewelry, searching for a metal clasp, the more searing it became, almost as if it would scar his skin. Neji pulled his hands away from his throat, as if burned, and placed them flat on the floor, glaring up at Kabuto weakly.

He'd done something to him.

Neji felt _strange._

Kabuto whistled as he moved away from the museum owner, only half-way down the stairs when he threw Neji's crumpled form a backwards glance. Neji was face down on the ground, his face pressed against the marble, eyes half-mast, when he saw Kabuto's features through the glossy flooring, contorted in amusement.

"Oh, and Neji, it really was a pleasure seeing you again."

* * *

.

.  
"Good to… see me?" Naruto echoed, forehead creasing in confusion. He didn't know if Gaara had him mixed up with someone else or if they really had met before. Either way, Naruto's pragmatic side didn't want to correct him. Not when Gaara was his only hope of getting out of this mess partially unscathed.

Naruto's pulse spiked as Kabuto's goons rounded the corner. "Shit. Here they come."

Gaara held his stance, tightening his grip on his deadly _Khopesh._

Spinning her dagger idly in one hand, Tayuya's carefree smile burned into Naruto's retina's, reminding him of her overwhelming power. She appeared completely relaxed, the assassin's leisure steps a drowned out echo amidst the wind, hissing the lethality of its nature. Jirobo loomed behind her, not nearly as giddy, but confident in his posturing nonetheless.

Naruto knew his hand to hand combat skills were just as imposing as her skills with a knife, so he needed to be careful. The last thing he wanted was to be caught in Tubby's cross-hairs again.

"You were hiding here, hm?" Jirobo smirked. The muscles in Naruto's abdomen tensed as he settled beside Gaara, facing his opponents who came to a halt just a mere three feet away. The other two, the pale man with the ash-grey bangs covering one eye and his spiky haired companion were missing. Dread snatched Naruto in its vice like grip.

He needed to get back to Kiba and Sasuke soon.

They were in **danger** .

"Kabuto was right. His protector did show up." Jirobo said, and Tayuya gave Gaara a quick once over. Naruto glanced at Gaara questioningly. He was his _what? Protector?_

"He doesn't look very strong…" Tayuya mused. "Still, it would be rude if we didn't show him our hospitality. Jirobo."

"Right." He grunted. On command, he whipped out a colt. Naruto glared at Tayuya, grinding his teeth together.

"You're going to have him shoot us? Seriously?"

"Oh don't you worry, that's not how you're going to die." Tayuya snickered, gesturing behind her. "It's only a friendly reminder that if any of you try to run away, he'll shoot. I'm going to take my time killing you - but I think I'll start with the warrior."

"Gaara has _nothing_ to do with this! We just met!" Naruto growled. His stomach churned. He never meant for anyone else to get involved.

Gaara didn't seem the least bit concerned about what he'd willingly stepped into, though. The guy just blinked once, lips thinned and slightly down-turned as he began to walk towards the dangerous group, his cloak and scarf flapping behind him.

Concern for the stranger drove Naruto to reach out for Gaara's mantle, giving it a short tug.

"Wait, _stop ._ " Naruto whispered harshly, curling his hand into a fist as he held Gaara back. Gaara paused in his stride, glancing at him. "They're tougher than y'think. I mean, you sure look like you know what the hell you're doing, but... I have a black belt and I couldn't put a scratch on these guys. They're insanely strong."

Naruto paused, looking for the right words. He knew right now wasn't the time to be humble. He should accept all the help he could get. However, the guilt that manifested inside of him was chewing at his consciousness. Kiba had already been caught up in all this. He didn't want a complete stranger dying because of him. He wouldn't let that happen. He _couldn't_ stomach that, if it did.

"I'm just saying you… you don't have to do this." Gaara's expression softened as Naruto rambled aimlessly, moving his hands in no general direction. "I… I don't even know _why_ you're doing this? Seriously, you have to be some sort of crazy person to get yourself involved. I won't let you get yourself killed over me."

"You're worried about me." Gaara's gravely voice stated amiably. Warm. Unquestioning. Full of something innocuous. And Naruto swallowed thickly, nodding his head.

"Well, duh. Of course I am. Do you see the position we're in?" Naruto frowned. He didn't have a weapon. At this rate, he would just get in the way. Gaara couldn't possibly take them all on his own while defending him. "If I just had something, I could help you beat these bastards black and blue. But I don't. I'll just be an obstacle for you and…"

Naruto's lips clamped shut. A pale, _cold_ hand unclasped from the hilt of the sword to reach out and stroke his cheek, stunting the archaeologist into silence. He was left wide eyed and partially slack-jawed as Gaara just smiled tenderly, touching him intimately as though he'd been doing so his whole life.

Gaara's emerald eyes shone with admiration. _Pride._ "You really never change…" He told him, and Naruto's heart swelled with an emotion he couldn't place. Gaara's fingers tenderly traced over the scars on Naruto's left cheek, his gaze concentrated. It looked like he was committing every detail of Naruto's face to memory, every contracting pupil and hitched breath. "Even in this life, you put other people before yourself. I'm glad to see that you're exactly the same."

"Even in this life?" Naruto murmured back incredulously. There he went again, with the weird phrasing.

"Are you done?" Tayuya cut in, snapping Naruto out of his reverie. She tossed her head back with an exasperated laugh, glancing between the two. "Because if you're finished catching up, I'd like to start stripping the flesh from your bones now." Naruto tensed as she pointed at him with her weapon.

"Should I add a few more lines to that face of yours Blondie, or should I gut the lanky little shit with the wide forehead first?"

Gaara responded for him, chillingly devoid of enthusiasm. His eyes flared with something fatal when he looked in her direction. "I will enjoy killing you."

"Excuse me?" Tayuya glared.

"You're going to die, right here." Gaara repeated, lifting his sword into the air. He spread his legs apart and squared his shoulders, ready and willing to draw blood. "And I pray that Ammit will show you no mercy in the underworld. You will experience nothing but _agony_ in your judgement."

"Ammit...?" Tayuya said blithely, almost like she had tasted something bitter in the name. Naruto watched her blow the crimson bangs away from her face. Her voice gradually grew more manic as she advanced on them, shoulders shaking with laughter. "Judgement? From the devourer of the dead? Hahahahaha! Let me tell you a little secret, darling. When I do die, I won't be answering to him."

Tayuya cast a quick glance at her partner, Jirobo mirroring her sadistic smirk with a chilling one of his own.

"For our servitude, our lives lie with the one, true ruler of this land… and our loyalty will be rewarded. Our PHARAOH will grant us privilege into paradise while your prince _perishes_."

Gaara glowered.

Naruto was openly gaping because this was clearly _One Flew over the Cuckoo's nest,_ part two. The twinkle in Tayuya's eyes was actually the sun shining through her ears. Kabuto's goons weren't playing with a full deck of cards if they actually believed, in this day and age, Pharaohs still existed. Naruto looked at Gaara, hoping to see this mutual understanding. Instead, he noticed the other seemed to cling to her every, delusional word like a vice, growing indescribably more serious.

" _He_ won't lay a HAND on him." Gaara spoke, menacingly. "Never again."

"We'll see about that, _slave._ "

Gaara instantly tensed.

Naruto gasped when he was gripped by the scruff of the neck. He was pushed far away from the two as they clashed, falling back on his ass. Tayuya closed the distance between her and Gaara quickly, squeezing the dagger's handle with that predatory, spine-chilling intent to kill. She was taller than the redhead, aggressive and quick. She moved her body weight with the fluid grace of a trained assassin, slicing the air in easy, succinct motions. Gaara's momentum, in spite of the height difference, didn't falter as he moved sideways, seamlessly countering whatever she threw at him with the underside of his blade.

 _Clang. Cling!_ Gaara's pupil-less eyes were dulled in concentration when she spun around and aimed to puncture his abdomen. Gaara curved his back to avoid the stab, blocking the attack with the curved edge, painfully induced by the angle of his forearm. He wasted no time in tipping forward to swing back at her, overwhelming her modest dagger with the bulk of his sword and strength. Effectively gaining the upper hand, Tayuya soon teetered onto her heels, hissing under her breath when a particularly damning force in Gaara's momentum had her on one knee.

Tayuya was left to defend herself with only a hand to the ground and the other in the air, trembling against the impact of Gaara's vicious cuts; and Gaara didn't relent. With controlled breaths he pounded her into the ground with his sword, slamming the weapon against her dagger _over and over and over_ again until the steel cracked and the ground beneath her splintered. She frantically looked around for a way out, an opportunity to turn the tables.

And Tayuya got it in the form of Jirobo taking aim with his colt.

She smiled. Silently, Tayuya thanked her partner under her breath. Jirobo clearly realized when he was needed. He wasn't a useless sack of fat after all as she suppressed a wide grin of satisfaction, intently watching him aim for Gaara's head.

Naruto's eyes widened and he stood up.

"Gaara, watch out!"

Gaara looked at his sickle, seeing the barrel of the gun reflected on it. Before Jirobo could fire he dodged out of the way, tumbling to the right just as the bullet whizzed through the air.

Naruto glared at the smoke fizzing from the fired gun. He bit the inside of his cheek, nostrils flaring.

"You promised he wouldn't shoot!" Naruto barked at Tayuya, causing her to snort. She tossed her weapon aside. Jirobo handed her the gun in its stead. Six rounds were left.

"I had no choice." Tayuya laughed, blowing her sweaty bangs away from her face. Her red irises burned into Gaara's as she took aim, through with playing. Naruto tensed up. As sick as Gaara's sword skills were, he was no match against a gun. Naruto raced for Gaara, hoping to push him out of the way.

"This was fun while it lasted."

Her fingers squeezed the trigger.

The rest happened as if it were in slow motion.  
 _  
_ _"Senetby wer mehtop, acht stech thic heset net Ra."_ Gaara murmured rapidly under his breath, the syllables guttural, pronounced, _violent_ lashes against the drum of Naruto's ears.

Placing his palm in front of him right as the deadly shot pierced the air, Gaara closed his eyes, breathing in deep. Naruto skidded to a stop, watching with paling skin and a gradually slackening jaw as the mark on Gaara's forehead flared. In a dizzying, inconceivable flash, Gaara's fingertips glowed a dark red. The bullet that whizzed towards Gaara became stark still, stopping only a few inches away from Gaara's forehead, floating aimlessly in front of him.

It was like gravity no longer existed, and Naruto made sure to _check_ as he lightly jumped, half-expecting to float into the sky. But _no,_ he remained grounded; unlike the bullet. Naruto barely had time to process the reality of the situation when Gaara bent his index and middle finger, rotating them with visible strain. He continued to push against an invisible force, whispering an outlandish mantra. His focus was impregnable amidst Naruto's progressive choking noises of disbelief.

Gaara's scarf whipped around him, tufts of crimson hair rustling with the progressively strengthening wind.

"Acht stech thic heset net Ra, hect mewet jila setah tes."

The bullet changed direction.

Naruto's jaw dropped to the floor.

 _"Kiet."_ Gaara finished lowly. The projectile was a whistle in the wind when it moved, and Jirobo's blood **sprayed.**

Pudgy hands flew up to wrap around an equally large throat. Naruto watched in horror, in paralyzed fascination as Jirobo fell to the floor on his knees, clutching the exposed flesh the bullet had punctured. His blood soaked fingers frantically pressed against his carotid artery in vain, trying to apply pressure to his injury. It was no use. Naruto cringed as he heard the other man choke and gurgle on his own blood. It pooled into his mouth, cascading over his lips. Broad shoulders shook as the gelatinous, sanguine fluid spewed out of him like a fountain, staining the alley floor in red.

Naruto couldn't tear his eyes away. It only took a few seconds before Jirobo bled out completely, convulsing on the ground as shorts spurts of blood gushed. His trembling hands twitched and waned. His seizing came to an abrupt end, heaving chest slowing to a stop after a few more garbled moans of distress. Tayuya looked on in shock as Jirobo grew still. Naruto mirrored her expression, his own face equally frozen when Gaara sighed and casually made his way towards the body.

"Pathetic." Gaara's hoarse voice carried through the silence, lazily skirting over Jirobo's crumpled form. He set his sword down, knees bent to examine the corpse. Naruto winced when Gaara used his fingertips to dig into the dead man's exposed neck, the soft squelch of pliant flesh punctuating the sound of Tayuya's labored breathing. The outline of his nails revoltingly protruded against Jirobo's now white skin.

Gaara found what he was looking for when he _tore_ the bullet out of Jirobo's throat, his hands a dripping maroon.

Tayuya was crippled with fear when Gaara's emotionless, vacant eyes cast her an almost pitying glance.

"H-He said…" Tayuya stammered, shaking her head. Her voice trembled with confusion. _Rage._ " _How?_ How did a slave like you learn spells from The Book of Kek?!"

"I am no longer a slave." Came Gaara's cool reply. He threw the shell into the air and curled his blood stained fingers. The same cartridge used to end Jirobo's life flew through the air, and perforated her skull. "And _you_ are no longer alive."

Tayuya fell backwards, her mouth still open from when she'd been seething. Although Naruto could barely see it since it happened so quickly, Tayuya had been murdered with the same lone missile that killed her friend. Her empty eyes were stuck staring at the ceiling in the alley, as if transfixed. Two lines of blood spilled from her forehead where the bullet split her skin. Naruto's stomach twisted, and before he knew it he was spilling stomach acid, momentarily grateful he hadn't eaten anything when Lee asked.

Gaara noticed Naruto doubling over, retching, and quickly wiped his hands on his pants, rushing to Naruto's side.

"Are you alright?" Gaara's face, unlike earlier, was filled with earnest affection. Naruto couldn't help but flush when Gaara ran his hands over his body, gently pushing away parts of his shirt to examine the abdomen underneath, checking for wounds. Naruto tugged his clothes down, flustered, forcing a laugh.

"Uh, thanks for worrying? I'm just peachy, promise. A-Okay." He wiped his lips with the back of his hand. Physically, he could live. However, he could have lived without the mental image of Gaara casually searching through the neck flaps of the deceased. The vomit on the floor was just much more aesthetically pleasing than the two dead bodies around them. Even if he wasn't a stranger to death due to his profession, _witnessing_ someone die was another situation entirely, one he just hadn't been ready for.

Sure they were bad people, but Naruto wasn't made out of stone.

Looking at Gaara's deep-creased frown, he strained a grin, pushing the nausea aside.

"'M fine. That was just, ehrm... a lot to process." Naruto told him honestly. Really, he should have shit himself by now. But he guessed after what he went through with Sasuke, Gaara's magic tricks just didn't rattle him as much as they should have. "We should really get going."

"Back to Sasuke." Gaara affirmed, offering Naruto a hand to help him up.

Naruto took the hand. His confusion must have been written all over his face.

"You're wondering how I could possibly know that."

"Damn right I am."

Gaara took off his scarf, motioning for Naruto to dip his head. Naruto strangely didn't question it.

"I've been watching you. Both you, and Sasuke, for a very long time."

"That's sort of…" _Creepy?_ Not really? For some reason, Gaara didn't feel that way as he wrapped the material around Naruto's neck, the fabric bunching up around his face. Gently, Naruto touched the scarf. It was soft. It smelled nice, too. "What's this for?"

"To keep you warm. There's a chill."

Naruto's mouth formed an 'o', taken aback by his new(?) friends kindness. His water-christened eyes were flitting to the sharp edges of his saviors sword abandoned on the floor. The Egyptian sickle-sword went out of commission around 1300 BC. The sight of the gold and crimson hilt had left him breathless since. Scuff marks littered the underside of the curved edge, indicative of years of wear. He was unable to suppress a lopsided smile at seeing such a unique weapon outside of a glass case.

"You come out of nowhere," Naruto shook his head in disbelief, "with a freaking _Khopesh_ and save me with powers out of a Star Trek episode. Of course I have questions."

"That's fair." Gaara acquiesced, lightly smirking. "And I will answer all of them."

"Once we get back to Sasuke?"

"Once we get back to Sasuke." Gaara agreed, walking over to his sword and picking it up. He placed the weapon underneath his cloak. Naruto clenched his teeth. He thought about Sasuke, lying vulnerably in bed. The two guys who were missing from Tayuya's pack could have been retracing Naruto's steps. If they were lucky, it would lead them directly back to Kiba's.

Naruto didn't waste anymore time when he took off into a sprint, Gaara following close behind.

"Okay! Let's go!"

* * *

C/N: If you read my above note, yeah, I'm going to Egypt. Woop, woop! If you're interested in my experiences traveling there, I'll be posting about it on my blog. Also, KodamaCreative recently made a Shadows in the Sand artwork for me, it's BEAUTIFUL. I'll be posting there soon as well! As always, I know that my stories aren't always accurate, but I thank you all again for baring with me. You can find cleaner versions of this story on AO3, where I post it more frequently and more efficiently. 


	11. Chapter 11: The Vessel

**A/N:** So I actually updated this four or five days ago on my ArchiveofOurOwn account, and had been debating whether or not to upload it on here because not many people read from this site. But just in case, I decided to keep updating chapters for those who don't use the other website, albeit this format is less sufficient. Please also know that I read everyone's reviews and appreciate the love and support! I'd respond, but yhis website's format just makes it difficult for me to, sufficiently. (In A03 you just sort of comment below and you can get way more personal with readers in terms of communication).

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven:** The Vessel

* * *

Naruto went pale as he looked at the clear sign of forced entry.

Kiba's door was smashed open, its hinge pins devastated by a surprise attack.

He chewed on the nail of his thumb, listening for movement, anything that would be indicative of the assailant still being inside. After another beat of silence, Naruto gestured with his index finger, signaling that he was going in first. Gaara raised an eyebrow at that, pointing to his weapon and then gesturing with his head at Naruto's clear lack of one, as if to say _is that really such a good idea?_

Naruto groaned silently. Gaara had a point, though it went against Naruto's entire being to let someone put themselves at risk in his place. Without a means to defend himself he was useless if something did go wrong, and he wasn't the one with the weird, mystical powers here. He stepped to the side, giving Gaara the honors. The warrior lightly smiled as he drew his sword, and Naruto trailed behind him, his senses heightened as they emerged through the doorway.

Kiba was the first one they saw. The brunet was sitting on the ground in the living room with his knees drawn close to his chest. His cheeks were bruised, but he looked generally unscathed. If anything, he just seemed unsure, nervously fiddling with his thumbs, feet tapping the ground in rapid succession.

At hearing their approaching footsteps Kiba lifted his head to regard Naruto with wide, saucer plates for eyes. Peering around, unable to differentiate between Kiba's mess and any real damage, Naruto's bad feeling was reaffirmed when he noticed blood on the floor, leading into the bedroom Sasuke was in.

His heart stuttered in his chest.

 _Fuck, Sasuke._

Naruto briskly moved away from Gaara's side to check on Sasuke until Kiba's voice broke.

"Dude, don't!" Naruto reluctantly stopped in his tracks at the plea, glancing over his shoulder to see Kiba's frowning face. He quickly peered in the direction of Sasuke's room, confused. Why didn't Kiba want him to go in there? Was Sasuke hurt? Was that his blood on the ground?

A million questions raced through his head, his nervousness doubling the longer he stood there.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, almost afraid of the answer, his voice thick and anxiety ridden. "Kiba, spit it out! Is Sasuke okay?"

"Sasuke's fucking fine, man!" Kiba shouted, just as a blood curdling scream pierced the air. Naruto and Gaara's spines both stiffened at the sound of bones cracking . An awful, agonizingly drawn out moan echoed around them; and it hadn't come from Sasuke. Kiba's teeth dug painfully into his bottom lip, looking as lost as Naruto felt.

"Look, those two fuckers in the weird getups? They came out of nowhere, man. They busted in, Akamaru and Kyuubi were barking like crazy, and I was ready to beat their asses to kingdom come until he... until Sasuke woke up, and..."

Kiba cussed lowly, shaking his head from side to side.

The look on his face was one of uncertainty.

 _Fear_.

"Fuck, Naruto," Kiba grimaced. "I couldn't stop him once he started."

"Couldn't stop him…?" Naruto began, his question leaving a heavy impression against his vocal chords when a deafening bang assaulted his ears.

What came stumbling out of Kiba's room was a living, half-breathing nightmare.

Gaara placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, gently bringing him a few steps back. Naruto's palms prickled with sweat as a head, nearly split open and gushing blood, emerged from Kiba's bedroom, struggling to stand. Sakon clumsily grasped the doorway, appearing disoriented yet determined to get away. His left arm, unnaturally positioned behind his back—the clavicle protruding through the tissue in a smear of ripped skin and sanguine fluid—limply swung back and forth as he dragged himself across the floor.

Gaara's mouth formed a tight line as he examined the assassin's torso, tucking his sword away. It was covered in stab wounds. The gashes bled profusely, staining the floor around the wounded man in red. Goosebumps rose on Naruto's skin when the sound of approaching feet upended the silence. Amidst the haggard breaths and Naruto's own shaky exhales, was the dissenting click of a tongue.

Exiting the room with that familiar, cool detachment, Sasuke emerged. And a massive chill, unlike anything Naruto's ever felt before, flitted through the room.

"Talk," Sasuke commanded, coldly. There was a dark edge to his voice. Without so much as a glance towards the others, his narrowed gaze flared and set Naruto's nerves ablaze. His posture was lax, but the sharpness in his obsidian orbs promised unfathomable cruelty. Sasuke snorted at the dying man, no longer appearing sick and vulnerable; he offered no respite when his bare foot pressed hard against Sakon's throat, pinning him to the ground.

In his hand, the cursed dagger was coated in Sakon's leaking stomach fluids.

Sasuke's toes pressed into the pliable flesh with dark purpose.

"Talk," Sasuke repeated, his voice eerily hollow despite the person squirming beneath him, gasping for air. Sasuke lifted his leg, the muscles in his calves tensing before once again pressing his foot into the other's throat. Saliva and blood dribbled down Sakon's open mouth, his blue-tinted lips trembling as an earsplitting scream was ripped from his throat. Sasuke's lips curved into a smirk.

"Is it revenge Kabuto's after? Has the taste of _death_ by my hands really made him this sloppy?" Sasuke's toes curled, applying more pressure to the neck underneath, his nails leaving crescent shaped moons on the flesh. Sakon said nothing, glaring up as his good hand sought purchase of Sasuke's ankle. Sasuke scowled down at the quivering mess, finding that the man was exactly where he belonged. Pathetically buried beneath his heel.

The look of satisfaction on his face was menacing.

"Or is this still about Naruto?" His foot decimated Sakon's fingers this time, snapping them with a low _crush. "_ **Answer me** . You're going to die, either way."

Naruto chewed on his bottom lip, unable to make sense of the conversation or Sasuke's sudden, baseless torture. There was something wrong with him. This wasn't Sasuke. Even with all their cat and mouse in the past, Naruto was absolutely sure that Sasuke would _never_ go this far.

Unable to take it anymore Naruto pried Gaara's hand away from his arm, wondering why he was being held back in the first place.

"Sasuke, he's not going anywhere. Cut it out!" Naruto shouted as he approached the thief, his body tightly coiled. He seized Sasuke by the shoulders and, with some resistance, pulled him off of Sakon, slamming him into the wall. The intruder gasped, a hand scrambling to his throat, his lungs grateful for the oxygen. Sasuke didn't protest as he was pulled forward by Naruto's strong, calloused palms, going nearly boneless when he was met with angry, questioning blue. The dagger dropped to the ground. Naruto's lips curved downward in disappointment.

"What the actual fuck, Sasuke? This is messed up and you know it," Naruto growled, frustration overwhelming his resolve to keep calm. "You'll really kill him! What's going on with you, huh?"

"I already killed his partner," Sasuke responded tonelessly, cocking his head in the direction of Kiba's bedroom. "Kabuto never expected his slaves to come back in one piece anyway, and even if they accomplished their 'mission' they would still be disposed of."

"You already killed his…" Naruto swallowed thickly, only just _now_ noticing the smell of death emanating from the guest room. The other guy, Kidomaru, was dead. Sasuke had killed him. He had _actually_ …

Sasuke broke his train of thought, flipping their positions around and quickly moving into Naruto's personal space.

Naruto jumped, attempting to inch away. It was too late. In just seconds he was trapped against the wall, tensing up when blood stained fingers reached for him; Sasuke noticed the unease radiating off of the blonde, making no other movements at first besides his thumb, tracing steady circles along the sun-kissed skin. The archaeologist's pupils blew wide.

"I had to. I'm not taking any chances this time around," Sasuke murmured, sliding that thumb down Naruto's jaw line until it was gently caressing his bottom lip. In all his fascinated horror, Naruto came to the steady realization he was blushing. His body was reacting in ways he'd never thought possible as Sasuke chuckled, low in his throat. He rested his leg between Naruto's thighs, breathing in his scent when he pressed closer. Naruto bit back a moan.

 _"_ Don't do anything reckless. _Sehedj ib..._ I know, that's asking for the impossible from you, but just try not to die."

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke leaned in and silenced him, brushing their lips together in a soft, chaste kiss.

He then pressed a kiss to one of the lines on Naruto's cheeks.

Naruto blushed. _Hard._ He looked over at Gaara with equal parts embarrassment and shock at the affection, finding it didn't quite blend well with the seriousness of the situation. Sasuke didn't look like he cared who was watching, though, gladly making Naruto more confused than he already was. With one last, soft kiss against Naruto's nose, he offered a contrite frown, tilting his head back. As quickly as Sasuke's hands were on him they were gone. A strange shudder seemed to run through Sasuke's frame as he closed his eyes once, then opened them, blinking slowly as if fighting off fatigue.

His irises were slightly glazed over and unfocused when he faced Naruto again. Naruto's chest, which had been heaving, slowed as Sasuke put some much needed space between them. His once blank features warmed at the sight of his surroundings, recognition flickering beneath the surface.

Sasuke searched Naruto's pinked features.

It was a complete one-eighty to his ruthless focus from before.

"I…" Sasuke began, pressing a bloodied palm to his forehead, staggering slightly. Gaara moved in the background to prop Sakon into a sitting position against the wall. Naruto watched the thief unconsciously smear the fluid against his skin.

Sasuke caught his balance and looked around, his expression guarded.

"How... did I get here?" Sasuke pushed inky bangs away from his face, irritated. Disoriented.

"Naruto, what's going on?"

"He's not complete," Sakon drawled from his spot on the floor. Naruto and Sasuke both looked in the direction of the mangled voice, noticing Kabuto's goon was steadily growing pale. His coughs grew more guttural and long winded. "It surprised me, you know… when I, haa… heard this weakling, nearly killed Anko… almost skinned her alive when she went after him..."

"Anko? Wait… wait a minute..." Naruto murmured, trying to gather himself, ignoring the tingling on his lips. He remembered what their first attacker told them in his apartment, just minutes after she had Sasuke in her sights.

 _"That Kabuto guy paid me to bring you to him after you escaped, but you really put up a fuss, what with almost killing me and all."_

Sasuke had told him he didn't remember that happening.

And he'd been telling the truth.

"What's going on with him?" Naruto asked rigidly, through with all the dancing around—he needed answers. "Just now, Sasuke was acting like he knew Kabuto before all this. He was kiss- _talking_ to me, but he wasn't… himself. It was almost like…."

"Like someone else was using his body, right?" Sakon sounded pleased, almost… happy, despite the mangled state of his arms. His eyes shone with an unholy fervor that made the hair on the back of Naruto's neck stand on end. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Sakon continued, his voice stable in spite of his lacerations. "You are all so… so _helpless._ Haha, I almost feel sorry for you. But it's like I said, he isn't complete _yet_. It's just the price you pay when you're reborn, when your soul is split in two. His other half is waking up… and man, is it cranky." Sakon gestured at his own disfigured, quivering form, looking over Sasuke disparagingly.

Sasuke tensed.

"When we're reborn?" Naruto said, traces of disbelief lacing his voice in spite of everything he's seen. The rational part of his brain was having a hard time processing the far fetched response. Naruto didn't believe in reincarnation. As much as he'd been comforted with the idea of heaven when his parents passed, even the after life seemed too convenient, too happy an end in the face of something so utterly bleak and interminable. Sasuke's eyes wouldn't leave Sakon's as he took a step forward, surprising everyone in the room. The thief unconsciously enunciated the next lines as if to challenge them.

"These visions I've been having," Sasuke's jaw clenched. "... they're of my past life." It wasn't a question. Naruto looked at Sasuke, mirroring the skepticism Kiba had on his face as he watched the exchange. But when he thought about it, really thought about everything that's happened to them, it made sense. Sasuke's unexplained shifts in personality, and Gaara's strange greeting... could Naruto really chalk this all to a past life? And in that case... where did he and Sasuke fit into it?

Kiba didn't stick around to hear anything else, opting out of the situation completely when he stood up and left the room. Naruto caught him mumbling that _everyone_ was losing it as he made a swift exit to the only other room in the house that wasn't completely destroyed—the bathroom. Naruto didn't blame him.

Sasuke's voice, in spite of the new information, remained steady. "So the dagger triggered my memories."

"You catch on quickly," Sakon cooed, his voice a venomous jest. "You should be a little more thankful, you know? Now that your past and present self are coming together, the hatred you've had festering in your heart for centuries has room to _grow_. And that's exactly what _he_ needs… You will make the perfect vessel for our Pharaoh's return."

"A vessel…" Sasuke echoed, finding the word resonated inside of him powerfully. Filling him up with _r_ _esentment. "_ What do you mean, return?"

Gaara, who had remained quiet the entire time, had heard about all he needed to hear.

The warrior cut in, bending down on one knee, clasping Sakon's jaw firmly between his fingers. Sakon's lips curled up into a derisive sneer when Gaara's other hand raised, forming a gesture similar to the one he made during Tayuya's attack. Sakon laughed, appearing nonplussed in the face of death. _Eager._

"He told me you'd be a problem," Sakon mumbled as Gaara began to quietly utter a spell under his breath. Gaara firmly raised a hand, and he conjured a shadowy aura around his fingertips, the wisps of haze shooting like sparks into the air. Turquoise orbs narrowed with homicidal intent, looking about as pleased as Sasuke who, only moments ago, had been choking the life out of the man. Gaara's hand then clasped onto the top of Sakon's head, pulsing a beat into the other's skull. Sakon slammed his head back against the wall with a painful cry, his entire body trembling as the vibrations grew stronger, drilling into his ears.

Gaara's lips eerily mirrored Sasuke's condescending smirk. " _Awrutshimaru_ will not succeed. I will protect my friends, even if it costs me my life," he said, glancing back at Naruto with a warm, reassuring smile. Naruto took a step towards Gaara, a panicked look sweeping over him at the declaration. He never wanted it to come down to that, ever.

"Then prepare to lose your lives real- _fuh…Fuck!_ R-real fucking soon," Sakon hissed out, his ears starting to leak blood, "because you will pay for disobeying your master."

" _I_ would stop talking." Gaara's blood hummed with vehemence. Venom dripped off his tongue as it lashed against the roof of his mouth, speeding up the process. Sakon fell completely forward with his cheek, pressed against the ground. His mouth was open but no screams came out. His body convulsed. "I'm not merciful _._ If it weren't for Naruto, I would gladly exhaust my energy torturing you."

Sasuke gave an impatient snort, clearly as anxious for this to end as Gaara seemed to be.

"I-I haven't e-even given you my… Ahhh _-hah…_! My m-message yet…!" Sakon scrambled to sit up, his pupils blown wide with manic fervor; Gaara scowled. His concentration didn't wave. Whatever Sakon had to say, he would have to manage through clenched teeth and bleeding eye sockets. Naruto wanted to throw up, his stomach in knots, but he tried to appear unaffected by the scene as Sakon continued, "Thr...ee days… Sasuke has… three days to meet Kabuto… in… _Ah_ -Abydos… if not… then… he told me to tell him to..."

Sasuke tensed at the mention of his name, his eyes narrowing as Sakon's eyes locked on him with a twisted smile.

"... to say goodbye to _Itachi."_

Sasuke's eyes flared wide. His body completely shut down. Naruto looked over at Sasuke in that moment, wondering at the meaning behind the man's words. He wasn't prepared for what he saw. For the first time since Naruto had known Sasuke, the thief looked truly afraid. Sasuke hands, which had been still before, started to _tremble_ violently as Sakon finally folded in on himself. The goon coughed one last time; a pathetic _squelch_ that left blood dribbling down the corner of his lips, the light fading from his eyes.

Sasuke's usually aloof mask waned then crumbled in that instant, revealing raw emotion—alarm.

And then in its place, _outrage_.

Before Naruto could react, Sasuke crossed over to Sakon and pushed Gaara out of his way. He gripped the assassin tightly by the hair, making Naruto go rigid. He wondered if this was another episode of Sasuke's distant self emerging to the forefront until Sasuke's voice came out, cold and dangerous.

"Stop me, Naruto, and it'll be the _last_ thing you do," Sasuke warned, his fingers digging into the top of Sakon's head with newfound fury. He pulled the tufts back, exposing Sakon's neck and pressing his free hand against the exposed throat. Sakon's lifeless eyes stared back at him, the coy smile that had been stretched across his face before he died never ebbing, even when Sasuke tightened his hold. Sasuke's voice actually broke when he spoke, his teeth rattling in his mouth. "Itachi, how did Kabuto know about Itachi? What did he do with him? Answer me!"

"Sasuke, he can't!" Naruto told him, moving forward to pull him back in spite of the earlier threat, "It's too late! Hey!"

Sasuke nearly blanched at the contact.

His fist swung back on impulse, connecting with Naruto's jaw. Before Naruto knew it he'd been sent flying backwards, catching himself from falling flat on his ass. The blonde cradled his bruised lip, cussing low in his throat when he threw himself at Sasuke, taking the jerk to the ground. They both fell to the floor with a loud thud, and Naruto pinned Sasuke's body to the floor with his own, bringing his fist back and slamming it into Sasuke's cheek deservedly. Sasuke's head snapped back from the force of it. Naruto swore he could hear a low crunch of teeth, compressing too tightly from the blow.

"What. The. Fuck. Sasuke!" Naruto shouted as he gripped the front of Sasuke's shirt. He used it as leverage to shake some sense into him. Nothing worked.

Sasuke's bangs fell over his eyes, casting a dark shadow over half of his face. It was fucking disturbing. More disturbing than Sasuke's earlier episode, because the bastard had never looked this upset before. This lost. It was like Sasuke's world actually seemed to be shattering beneath him. And Naruto didn't know why, but it was the most painful thing he'd ever seen in his life.

Naruto's grip slackened.

"Hey… hey, Sasuke, listen to me," Naruto began, trying his best to conceal his heavy pants. He made no other move to touch Sasuke, trying to keep his voice leveled, hoping to get through. Clearly whatever the guy said had Sasuke hitting the panic button. If he could just cool him down a bit, then maybe they could figure this out? He just wanted Sasuke to stop looking the way he was. "Just tell me what's going on, okay? Who's Itachi?"

"It's his brother." Gaara answered for him, and Naruto's eyes grew wide.

"You… you have a brother?" Naruto stammered. Sasuke glanced off to the side, his emotions beginning to diminish behind a practiced veil of indifference.

"An elder brother." Gaara spoke again, causing Sasuke's attentions to immediately focus on the redhead, narrowed eyes penetrative. Mistrustful.

"And you are?" Sasuke asked, his hollow voice further accentuating the madness lurking beneath it. He pushed Naruto off of him, standing up. He balled his bloodied hands into fists, ignoring the sting of his jaw. "You wouldn't know about my brother unless you were involved. "

"Itachi and I were friends. I have no interest in harming his present self," Gaara's gravelly voice promised, unfazed even in the face of Sasuke's waning resolve to keep calm. "You still haven't remembered. I will reintroduce myself. I'm Gaara," Gaara said simply, kneeling onto the ground. With a hand placed over his heart, Gaara's head fell forward in humble observance of the two. Naruto couldn't help but watch on, almost in mortification, as the man pulled out his _Khopesh,_ holding it out in a display that not only demonstrated his strength but his loyalty. Sasuke's skepticism in that moment faltered. "I'm Naruto's protector."

Naruto flashed a tentative smile, scratching his head.

"Protector is still a weird way of putting it. But yeah, he's sort of like my friend slash bodyguard," Naruto chuckled nervously, a light shade of pink dusting his cheeks, "so let's just say he's cool. He helped me out of a bind earlier."

"Tch. And how are we supposed to know he's not working for the enemy?" Sasuke sneered. Naruto's blood boiled, remembering all Gaara did for him in that alleyway. He felt a surge of protectiveness over their new alliance. They could trust Gaara. That he was sure of more than anything.

"I _said_ he's fine, bastard." Naruto left no room for arguments, his voice terse. Sasuke snorted at the confidence, remembering all the times Naruto _thought_ he could trust someone, only to be misled. Naruto was too naive. He was too gullible in a world where goodness was as commonplace as rain in the desert; and he wasn't going to be fooled. Not now, when it mattered most.

"I'm supposed to believe that from you? With your track record?" Sasuke spat out. Naruto's face annoyingly screamed _yes, yes he was._

"He's the only reason I'm even here right now, asshole. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't even be alive."

"You're easily deceived. What you believe doesn't matter. It's no wonder I always had the upper hand," Sasuke reproached easily, shaking his head. Sasuke surveyed Gaara with a quick glance, trying to resist the part of him that actually felt _comfortable_ with the stranger's presence. He'd said he'd been friends with Itachi. Well, in a sense. Sasuke just wasn't able to come to grips with what he'd learned. He blamed his fatigue. Ever since he'd woken up, Sasuke had felt sluggish. His mind was racing with several thoughts at once, the information he'd gathered leaving him disoriented and embittered.

"For all you know Naruto, that could have been a trap so you'd let your guard down."

"Yanno, Sasuke, I'm not the one who's gonna to head over to Abydos when that's clearly the trap here," Naruto snapped back, causing Sasuke to flinch, wondering how Naruto knew about the decision he hadn't voiced, "so how 'bout bashing someone else with that stick you pulled out your ass. Gaara's not the issue here."

Naruto pursed his lips. Sasuke didn't need to say anything. Kabuto had his brother, and if Naruto took anything away from Sasuke's reaction, it was that he'd be dead set on getting him back. Understandably if he were in Sasuke's place, even he knew he would take the risk. But it was obvious what this was—it was a ruse to lure Sasuke out into the open, to put him in Kabuto's reach. And whether Sasuke's brother was there or not wouldn't matter. If Sakon was telling the truth, if Sasuke really was to be used as some sort of vessel for Kabuto's twisted ritual, they needed to work together.

"The fact is, Gaara's on our side, whether you like it or not. I know you don't believe me, but here are the facts, bastard, and I hope you're paying attention because I'm only gonna repeat myself once. Kabuto's the bad guy here, and the bad guy has your brother," Naruto glowered, his eyes hardening with resolve, "and we're rescuing him. Together. So put on some clothes, get your crap, and lose the attitude. Because if you're at our throats the entire way there, there's no way this will work, and there's no _way_ I won't be able to resist kicking your ass."

Sasuke released his balled up fists at the declaration, surprise flashing across his face before disappearing quickly under a veil of uncertainty. Skepticism.

"You're going... to Abydos? With me?"

Naruto blinked slowly at the dumb question. "Why the hell wouldn't I?" They've already come this far together. It wouldn't make sense for Naruto to bail now, not when so much was at stake and so many questions were left unsolved. Somehow, though, Naruto knew there was more to it than just being too far gone. It wasn't just about him trying to get the dagger back anymore. Naruto still hadn't forgotten what Sakon said before he died, and Naruto didn't miss the way Gaara's eyes flitted towards him at the mention of the word _prince._ Something had flickered in the back of Naruto's consciousness, but it was gone before he could grasp it. Sasuke's kisses and unstable temperament were clues. And while he didn't understand it at all, everything was pointing in one direction. What they were dealing with here was bigger than just Sasuke and a curse. It had layers of history.

A history that Naruto needed to uncover.

He didn't really know why he felt that way—he just knew it to be the truth. And if he were being honest with himself, seeing Sasuke injured had been the final nail in the coffin. It had felt like a blow to the gut, and Naruto needed to know why.

"I told you I would help you," Naruto said with his usual, steadfast conviction. Sasuke didn't know what to say, completely floored, as he always was, by Naruto's earnestness. "I don't break my promises."

Naruto didn't bat an eye about lifting his curse, and he was the same when it came to saving his brother; there was no one else like him.

Sasuke's heart swelled with an emotion he could only place as... gratitude.

He stared at Naruto, taking a moment to commit his sincere commitment to memory before leaving the room to grab his things. Naruto looked over to where Kiba retreated, murmuring an apology under his breath—at least Kurama was in safe hands now.

"We have three days to get to Abydos, right? As awesome as a nap sounds, we should get there in one," Naruto said out loud, earning a nod from Gaara who came to stand close to him. "Then we can scope out the place. We'll check for blind spots and find our exit just in case things gets too hairy. If we need to make a quick escape, we'll know where to go." Meanwhile, that will give Sasuke some time to calm down.

"How will we get to Abydos?" Gaara asked.

"Hmm... good question." Naruto tapped his finger against his chin. It isn't like they could walk all the way there. And with Sasuke's reputation and Gaara's strange appearance, they would definitely draw the wrong sort of attention.

He only needed a moment to think before his eyes lit up.

"I know just the person!"

* * *

"No."

Naruto flinched at the hardness in the woman's gaze. Situated behind her desk, the pilot of _The Soaring Scarab_ glanced back down at her paperwork, tapping the desk impatiently with one of her long, painted finger nails. Her long blonde hair was tucked into a messy bun. Aviator goggles rested on her forehead, pushing back her bangs and further accentuating the scowl on her face.

She wasted no time in dismissing Naruto off with a flouncy wave, the annoyance paramount and escalating the longer he stood there in front of her, fidgeting determinedly.

"Whatever it is, I'm not doing it," she told him, shutting down any hope he had with one quick, ice-ridden glance. "No way in hell, brat. Or did you forget that I almost lost my life flying you over to Aswan?"

"But that wasn't even my fault!" Naruto cried, pounding his fist on the table. He winced when he caught a glimpse of Sasuke, viewing the exchange with an obvious amount of distrust.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, glancing around the rickety shack situated only ten miles south of Dahshur. As much as he wanted to strangle the idiot for dragging him them all the way out here, it didn't surprise Sasuke that they were being turned away. The moron probably did almost kill her. Trouble followed Naruto wherever he went, and clearly this woman had seen her fair share with him.

Sasuke snorted at the display.

Naruto's hands fisted at his sides, his temper waning with Sasuke's judgmental, condescending look triumphantly dominating his features. His voice dropped to a harsh whisper as he continued to speak behind his hand this time. Sasuke's features crinkled in exasperation. Naruto was _still_ loud, no matter how many hands were over his mouth—he could speak from experience.

"Seriously Tsunade?" Naruto hissed between clenched teeth, "how was I supposed to know there was a snake in my bag?"

Tsunade stood up, and the desk rattled.

A vein on her temple throbbed.

"It nearly _strangled_ me, and we almost went DOWN because of your CARELESSNESS, BRAT!"

Naruto's patience snapped. "Well maybe if you were a BETTER PILOT, WE WOULDN'T HAVE ALMOST CRASHED IN THE FIRST PLACE!" he shouted, unflinching when Tsunade's hands reached across the table to grip him by the scruff of the neck.

Her grip, like every other time they'd argue, was powerful. It nearly knocked the wind out of him as he was lifted and inch or two off the ground. Gaara flinched behind him, his hand on the hilt of his weapon, but Naruto held up a steady hand to signal he was _okay_. He didn't want his new friend with the freaky, supernatural powers to _kill_ Tsunade or anything, no matter how much of a stubborn hag she was. She was a family friend, after all, and no He was determined to settle this.

"Just ONE RIDE to Abydos," Naruto insisted, dead set on changing her mind, "come on, this is the last favor I'll ever ask you, I promise!"

"You can't keep promises if we're dead," Tsunade told him, grounding her teeth, finally looking around at the rest of her audience before rounding back on Naruto with a dirty scowl. "I have to fly all THREE of you?"

"Sasuke can walk!" Naruto suggested, mostly out of habit.

Sasuke's dirty glare could set the whole of Egypt on fire.

"Or Naruto can stay behind," Sasuke offered, smirking at the other man, "he's the one you have a problem with."

"He does have a point," Tsunade hummed, dropping Naruto and pushing him away with impressive force. Naruto shot Sasuke a nasty look. Tsunade sighed, rubbing her forehead with her thumb and index finger, not failing to notice Naruto's indignant huff.

She looked Naruto up and down, considering it. "You aren't going to take no for an answer, are you?"

"This is important." Naruto urged, the seriousness manifesting in his locked jaw and tensed shoulders. "Look, I know you're mad about last time. I get it. And I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you, but we need to get to Abydos and you're the _only_ one I know that can get us there fast."

"What's in Abydos?" Tsunade probed. Naruto flinched. She reached into her pocket, drawing out a cigarette from its depths. She placed it between her lips, eyeing Naruto expectantly. "Well? Is this another excavation of yours?" She mumbled against it, the end bouncing as she spoke. Tsunade narrowed her eyes, "do I need to be worried about you? You're not chasing after that Sasuke person again, right?"

"He always chases me," Naruto fired back quickly. The aforementioned man rolled his eyes, "but no, that's not what this is about. I swear."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow in interest. "Oh?"

"It's hard to explain," Naruto told her honestly, biting the inside of his cheek. He pulled his lighter out from his bag, igniting the spark. He held the flame to the end of the rod. Tsunade inhaled appreciatively, her posture relaxing as the nicotine flooded her system. "I'm sorry. This is… really all I can say about it."

"Keeping secrets from me?" Tsunade raised an elegant brow, not quite sure how she felt about that. She exhaled, blowing a ring into the air. "That's not like you, Naruto. I'm not sure I like it."

"I keep things from you all the time, Granny."

"But I can usually tell _what_ you're keeping. You're not hard to read, brat." Tsunade smiled coyly, giving Naruto a once over. She sighed. "You're becoming more like your mother every day."

Naruto offered a bashful smile, scratching his cheek. "Amazing? Smart? Dangerously good looking?"

"Impulsive. Stupid," Tsunade grinned, "dangerously close to getting yourself killed. Again."

Naruto's shoulders slumped dejectedly. Sasuke couldn't help the tilt of his lips at the quip.

"This is the _last_ time, do you hear me, _the last time_ I fly you anywhere brat. I can take you and your friends as far as Sohag. The rest of the way is on you." Tsunade told them, putting out her cigarette on the ashtray of her desk. Naruto beamed at her appreciatively, shooting Sasuke a look that reeked of smugness.

"Get ready. We leave in ten minutes."


	12. Chapter 12: A Shift in the Wind

**A/N:** I'm back! Sorry for the wait. If you've been following my wordpress, you'd know that for the past two months a LOT has happened that hindered me getting this next chapter up. (Dad had a stroke, my back went out like an old person *I'm 22* among a few other pressing issues...) But, it's all good now! I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I tried to write a lot to make up for my being KIA recently. Thank you guys so much for your patience. I hope everyone is having an amazing week.

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve:** A Shift in the Wind

* * *

 **Cairo, Egypt  
** **Museum of Antiquities  
** **القاهرة  
** **23:32**

Hinata briskly walked down the hall, her clenched fist quivering against the digital autopsy. Dark circles stained the skin under her eyes from having deliberated with forensic analysts for hours, trying to make sense of their findings. The 2D CT scans brought unprecedented details about Awrutshimaru. From his age to his diet and health before death, they had everything they needed to make a case on how the Pharaoh passed away—and the results were astounding.

They were inconclusive.

"Neji?" Hinata called out. She impatiently kicked off her night slippers that were slowing her down and quickened her pace. Neji was most likely cooped up in his private office located through the annex, near the back of the museum. When he never returned home she would always find him there, buried in paperwork. Or she would find him pacing around Tutankhamun's exhibition, hissing numbers to himself. Her cousin had habits.

She smiled privately and finally stopped in front of the door that led to the office. Pale fingers deftly flew over the keypad, pressing in the code. As much as he'd like to _claim_ he wasn't easy to read, Neji was an open book, though he never used to be. When they were small, she'd always been unnerved by him, thinking him to be a cold, calculative person. Her cousin was never apt at sharing his feelings. He always put on an air of impassivity, and she recalled it always made her feel uncomfortable.

Hinata remembered how she'd often look for ways to avoid his inscrutable gaze, feeling burned whenever he'd speak to her in reprimand.

Now it just seemed silly. _  
_

It was only when Naruto came into their lives—all blinding white teeth and sparkling sapphire—that she realized how considerably large his range in emotions was, and how much it could stretch to accommodate Naruto's tireless spirit.

Neji _felt_ just as strongly as she did.

And he _fell_ harder.

"Neji, are you here?" Hinata asked as she opened the door, this time to the darkness. Squinting her eyes, she could barely make anything out without her glasses, but she could see that Neji's office was locked shut. Neither his lights were on, nor the lights leading to her private library. She sighed. Her intuition had been wrong. She was about to turn back, search the basement level, until she heard soft panting. A faint, blue glow, flickered amidst the pitch black. She dropped the autopsy report at once, flipping on the switch.

Neji's body was sprawled out on the floor, papers strewn everywhere, his fingers curled and shoulders shivering. With clenched teeth he said Hinata's name, struggling to right himself into a sitting position. Hinata was by his side immediately, pressing her hand into his back, trying to keep him upright. His shirt was drenched in sweat.

"Wh-What happened?!" Hinata's voice quaked. Neji was cold and clammy. His hair was stuck to his forehead, refusing to yield. She swallowed her panic, using the strength in her biceps to lift her cousin to his feet. She huffed as she propped him against the wall. He was heavy. She utilized her core muscles to keep him in place, her palms pressed fervently against his chest.

"Neji," she bit out, struggling to keep her voice calm. Her first priority was to get him out of here, into the hall. He looked like he had a fever with his face flushed, muscles spasming at even the faintest touch. She needed to take him to the service elevator. She _needed_ to get him to a hospital.

Hinata carefully maneuvered herself so that Neji's arm was strung over her left shoulder. His head tucked under her chin. She sucked in a breath, taking a firm grip of his waist, gently leading him to the door. His feet dragged against the marble, his skin on fire, heat radiating off of him through his clothes in waves like she was hovering too close to a flickering flame.

"Neji, what are you feeling?" She asked, actively watching to make sure she didn't hurt him. Beads of perspiration gleamed on his skin, illuminated by the soft glow emanating from the crystal around his neck. Hinata looked into Neji's dilated pupils questioningly, having never seen the necklace before and feeling oddly drawn to its' fantastic radiance. She held open the door she'd passed through with her foot, inching carefully forward.

"You're burning up…" She whispered. Neji had never been this ill. It scared her. "I-I need to take you to a doctor. Do you remember how long you were on the floor? Were you there this entire time?"

"Forget… about me," Neji rasped, squeezing his eyes shut. Clasping his searing fingers around Hinata's wrist with a violent shake of his head, Neji's eyes dazedly searched hers for some sort of clarity. Of what, she couldn't decipher. "Naruto's…" Neji managed with difficulty, scrunching his eyes shut. " _Hah,_ in... danger… We have to… _I_ have to tell him. I can't let this-... _nngh!_ Happen….again!" "

"N-Naruto?" She seized at the mention of Naruto's name, her grip on her cousin tightening. Hinata was more alert now than ever at the thought of Naruto being put in jeopardy by any means. "Neji, why is Naruto in danger? You're not making any sense. I… I think you're just very sick. Once we have you looked at…-"

"There's no time!" Neji hissed, and without warning he pushed away from her, swaying as he did so to stand.

The door clicked shut behind them, locking into place.

Neji found it eerily signified their entrapment. He greedily drew in a breath, clutching his heart with his right hand, feeling it pulse with the pain, the _agonizing_ guilt that had justly desecrated his soul. He looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes, his mouth set in a hard line. Skin blanched. For thousands of years his spirit sat, placated by Hinata's warmth. By Naruto's friendship. Benumbed by the lackadaisical routines, absorbed in a life that was never his. However, it was clear now.

As Neji's hands shook and he scrutinized their surroundings with alarming vigilance, it was clear that nothing could vitiate his debased nature.

He'd been living a lie, comforted by the oasis in Naruto's intimate, water-christened eyes, taken in by a bond that he'd never rightfully earned.

Now was the time for repentance.

He _remembered._

He remembered, but it was far too late.

"We need to leave," Neji urged, opening his eyes to face her and licking his dry lips. Whatever weakness had overcome him before was temporarily muffled, smited by his own self-deprecation and augmenting spite. Two days. Kabuto would be back in two days to hear his answer, most likely believing him to be as docile as before, as ignorant and resentful. As much as he loathed himself, who he once was and who he _still_ might be, and as much as he felt sick with the realization of his sins, Neji promised he would never allow himself to be dragged down to that _place_ again. His loyalties no longer lie with his treasonous, insatiable lust. They remained, as they should have, with Naruto, his best friend.

The love of his life.

The prince of Egypt.

The one he murdered.

"Leaving, Neji? I am afraid it's too late for that."

Both Neji and Hinata jerked, simultaneously caught off guard by the intrusion, by the slippery voice that assaulted the drum of their ears. In front of them stood Kabuto, accompanied by two others. Mercenaries. Neji examined them hastily. None of them fit the profiles of those whom existed in the past, which was a welcomed relief. They were most likely dwellers of this timeline, local egyptians enraptured by Kabuto's sharp tongue and illustrious fortune. Paid to kill.

Neji struggled to stand in front of Hinata, protective. Lucid. Sorely aware.

"What do you want?" Neji glared, vainly attempting to conceal his labored breathing. His body felt heavy, dangerously close to anchoring him to the floor. He elected to ignore it. "You said I had two days."

Kabuto hummed, feigning thoughtfulness. "I changed my mind," the bespectacled man grinned, tilting his head to the side with a flash of his teeth. "It was clear to me that returning your memories would require a little less… _stimulation_ than Sasuke's. So, I've come to collect you."

"Sasuke?" Neji echoed back thickly, dread creeping over his person brought by an influx of remorse. Before, hearing the name of Naruto's lover would damn any rationality, any semblance of sentiment he had. Now, all it did was fill him with desperation, the need to protect those close to Naruto overbearing the affection he had inside; the same affection that drove him to commit the ultimate betrayal.

Neji narrowed his eyes, "what did you do to Sasuke, _tjati*?_ "

Kabuto tutted at the question, "nothing that concerns you, _niewtey*."_

Neji's body trembled with anger, his indignant expression contorted into something primal at the response.

"Sasuke's fate, you see, was sealed centuries ago when he chose to intervene with Awrutshimaru's plans. Now our Pharaoh simply wishes to finish what he started," Kabuto smirked, trailing his fingers down his throat and lazily skirting them across his stomach, stroking it with his thumb and pointer. "And truth be told, whether Awrutshimaru's resurrection succeeds is rather… inconsequential to me. However, Sasuke and I have some... _unfinished business_. He did stab me, after all. _Right…_ "

The tips of those digits pressed into pliable flesh, mimicking the proposed action as the skin folded inward, through Kabuto's shirt. Neji watched him sigh, could imagine blood soaking the material in a steady stream, a stream he wished he'd been responsible for.

"... _here."_

Kabuto looked up at him through tinted frames, a delirious smile reaching his ears.

 _"_ I'm not resentful. Everyone dies…" Kabuto paused, and a dark shadow like nothing Neji had ever seen before cast itself over the other's eyes. Kabuto's voice dropped to a low octave, lips curling over teeth, malevolence dripping like poison from a an equally inhuman tongue. "... But I must say, dying _hurts._ "

"And you will die again," Neji snarled with contempt, "I refuse to go anywhere with you. I will _not_ be subjected to your will. Not this time."

"Oh?" Kabuto chuckled, "Well, isn't this new."

"Don't patronize me," Neji seethed. He choked on it. His shame. The unrepressed acidity of derision over Kabuto and his actions, but he tried to compose himself. His hands balled into fists, teeth digging sharply into the inside of his cheek. "It… was never Naruto's destiny to perish. It was not his time to die. If I had known what you'd planned… If I had even the faintest impression of your intentions, I would have never sent him off to...-"

"You would have what, Neji? Saved him? Kept him from his fate?" Kabuto interrupted gleefully, a chuckle escaping his throat. Neji winced at the mockery, nostrils flaring in defiance. His rapidly beating heart pounded in his ears. Kabuto placed his hands behind his back, leisurely walking towards them. Each step he took filled Neji's head with immeasurable pain. He could feel the resounding echo pound against the entirety of his being. _Don't let him in your head,_ Neji ordered himself. _Don't let him bait you._ _  
_ _  
_ _That's how he wins._

"You would have still made the same decision, Neji, because that is _your_ destiny," Kabuto cooed, stopping breifly to examine the anguish on Neji's face. It reflected deliciously off the marble floor, fueling the desire in Kabuto's heart to defile. To further cast doubt.

"Don't try to hide it…" Kabuto leered, "as soon as I saw you again I could feel it, radiating off of you."

Neji flinched, remembering Kabuto's first words to him as they reverberated through his head, wracking his body with chills.

 _"Still so greedy, are we?"_

"The darkness in your heart hasn't disappeared." He made it seem laughable. As if the very prospect was insulting to Neji's own intelligence. An absurdity that had no place being anywhere in the room. "And being reborn has, unfortunately for you, not changed your true nature. You will make the same mistakes, just as you did before… and with or without your interference Naruto will die. Because that is what our Pharaoh, Awrutshimaru, wills it."

"Awrutshimaru, is _no_ Pharaoh of mine," Neji punctuated heatedly, drawing his lower lip between his teeth, "and no matter what you say I will never allow myself or Naruto to be deluded by your words again. My life no longer belongs to me. It's his… and as the God's as my witness I will die a thousand deaths if it results in even _one_ of your failures."

Kabuto glowered at the declaration, his irises contracting to slits.

"Well. We will see about that," Kabuto sneered, snapping his fingers. The two mercenaries moved forward, each brandishing knives sharpened to a fine point.

Hinata stepped out from behind Neji, moving to stand by his side. She gripped his arm, squeezing it with purpose, giving him a meaningful look.

"Neji," Hinata's voice was chillingly monotonous, betraying no emotion. The only inclination of her worrying was how her forehead crinkled, subtly flickering back and forth between Kabuto and Neji, wrought with tension but ready to defend her cousin and herself if need be. Neji's calve muscles tensed, ready to run, ready to _fight_ with what little coordination he possessed. Then he would go to Naruto.

He would be the friend he should have been over a millenia ago.

Hinata inhaled raggedly, setting her jaw.

"This man said he… he killed Naruto," she whispered. Just the image of Naruto's lifeless body made her nauseous. Murderous. Hinata's features hardened, the proposed information transforming her into something ferocious. Unpleasant. A side that was rarely unlocked unless severely pushed.

Neji locked eyes with one of the two men, straightening his back.

"He hasn't," Neji reassured her quietly, the two of them inching backwards, easing themselves into a defensive stance. The Hyuga's faces simultaneously darkened, vehement, a single person in mind, "at least not yet. Not in this timeline. But this ends here, Hinata… If something goes wrong-"

"-you will explain all of this to me later," Hinata told him, offering up a smile. It was a promise, a promise that there would be a next time. That despite their situation, they would make it out of this alive. And Neji mustered a smile back, pledging the same. He silently implored Isis to ensure Hinata's safety, touching his fingertips to the curve of the crystal shimmering against his pale skin.

If Hinata had been born at that time—a time when the Nile inundated the fields, his world consisted of coarse off-whites and searing winds and his heart had been a funnel of fury and self-deprecation—he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, she would have been enough to liberate him. Hinata would have saved him, lifted him up as she has all these years and led him down the correct path.

With her in his life, maybe he wouldn't have made all those terrible choices.

Neji would not waste time, however, berating himself over what could have been.

She was here now.

This was his new life—and he was going to protect it.

 _I'm stronger._

The mercenaries never knew what hit them.

Hinata was the first to charge ahead, her leg snapping forward, a bare heel colliding with the bedraggled executioner's jaw and bending it back amidst a flurry of gnashed teeth and wriggling toes. Neji wasn't surprised. He knew Naruto had secretly taught her combat moves years ago as he heard the ear-splitting crack, the bones crunching and the temporomandibular joint nearly unhitching at the impact of the blow. The thug puffed through his nose, never allowed time to recover when Hinata's palm slammed into the man's stomach soon after, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to double over.

His face met with the brunt of Hinata's knee when she snapped her hips, and he was knocked to the ground in seconds. Hinata's abdomen flexed. She brushed her hair out of her face. Rose petal lips pressed together as she bent the knee of her non striking leg to gain more momentum, and she lifted her right one up in a backwards swing, dropping it on the mercenaries face and splitting the skin. He was unconscious, instantly.

Kabuto whistled at the display, idly standing by to watch. The knife flew out of Hinata's assailant's hand and skidded across the floor. Neji, in spite of his dizziness, managed to pull himself together to join her as he took on the second man, now looking wary about his situation as he nastily snarled at Neji and swung at him with his knife. Neji wasn't quick enough. He was having a hard time dodging the attack, albeit everything seemed to be moving in slow motion his body was plaintively slower. More sickly.

The tip of the knife nicked Neji's stomach as he draw back, and Neji hissed with pain.  
He attempted to gain some balance as he drew his fist back and it met his attacker with bruising force. However, although his target's face seized to the side, he didn't go down as easily as Neji hoped. Instead, his attacker ducked, returning the blow with a jab to Neji's gut.  
Neji doubled over, groaning as a hand conveniently fisted through long hair, pulling him up and delivering another strike to his cheek.

Neji grasped the wrist holding him in place. Grubby fingers roughly clasped the strands, unrelenting in their pursuit. He swore he could hear the ends of his hair crunch from the breakage. _I need to get loose!_ He attempted to twist the other's arm off of him, despising himself for having such an easy weakness to exploit. Hinata witnessed the struggle and rushed to help, jumping on top of the man's back and dipping her fingers on either side of his mouth in a fish hook, pulling the cheeks back.

It was a dirty move, but it incited panic and the mercenary screamed, letting Neji go.

Neji silently thanked Hinata in his head as he moved his long knee in a forward strike to the soft spot on the other's abdomen, and he too sagged to the floor. His knife clattered. Neji bent to pick it up, his brows snapping together as he sized Kabuto up, detesting how Kabuto remained relaxed, as if oddly appeased by the turn of events.

Neji's bitter loathing thrived on the posture, sending his blinding scorn to the forefront. He was running before he could think, swinging the knife at the visier with an impulse oddly reminiscent of a certain archaeologist he knew. He didn't care to measure Kabuto's strength as he brought the weapon down, revenge inciting an idiocy in him that he never knew he would ever possess.

Kabuto flashed a feral grin.

The best outcome was playing out before him as his hand quickly outstretched to meet Neji's face; and Neji wasn't able to get away. He was seized by his cheeks, an overwhelming strength mercilessly subduing him, and Kabuto _squeezed._ Neji's hand, the one holding the knife, twitched and convulsed with a gasp of pain. He screamed, screwing his eyes shut when Kabuto's fingers dug into his skin, the pressure hammering into his skull. It was all it took to make him go limp against the palm of Kabuto's hand.

"Neji!" Hinata shrilled. Neji dropped the weapon and lamely, fruitlessly grasped at the arm keeping him stagnant, only to feel his body weaken until his arms drooped to his sides.

Hinata gasped behind him. Neji could hear her approaching, only to be stopped by Kabuto's soft click of disapproval.

"Nuh-uh, uh. Unless you want me to kill him," Kabuto said cheerily, applying strain with each word. "I wouldn't move, if I were you."

"Fuh-! Nhh..Hah..!" Neji wheezed. Kabuto dropped him to the floor, a momentary reprieve, a welcomed chance to draw in air. "Fu... _ck!"_

Neji cussed out loud. A coughing fit decimated his frame as Hinata stood frozen in place, confliction and concern for Neji causing her to be silent. Still. Kabuto couldn't help the chuckle that filtered out of him at the welcomed sight. The subservience caused it to bubble from his throat into all out, manic laughter. _Neji was his._ _  
_ _  
_He wasted no effort in slamming his foot against Neji's back, pressing him onto the floor, forcing him to kneel as though he were a slave. And that's just what he would be. Neji was lucky to be even that, at this point.

Kabuto shivered pleasantly, indulging himself in the sight. Hinata's lower lip quivered in the face of Neji's crumpled form before her jaw tightened, scowling at the other man. Neji could tell she was going to try to fight. He went tense. Faintly, through the reflection in the newly polished floor, he made out the movements of the men they threw to the ground. From behind his cousin they sat up, sneering up at her, glancing over at Kabuto. The blood in his veins ran cold as realization dawned.

They were never knocked out.

They were pretending to be unconscious, waiting for a command.

"Don't!" Neji begged, and Kabuto looked down on him, thoughtful. Hinata was stunned. Neji never looked or sounded so desperate, so utterly defeated. But he knew he had to be. For her sake, he knew what would transpire if he showed any more defiance. And he wouldn't allow himself to get carried away by his own antagonism. Not now.

"Don't…" Neji repeated numbly, urging Kabuto to not carry out the execution. He knew more than anyone what this man was capable of. What horrors he could induce. The torment he could bring through unfathomable, unspeakable evils even Hinata would have a difficult time digesting. Imagining his family suffering at Kabuto's hands because of his rash ineptitude made him ill. So he remained still, attempting to relax, to appear _willing_ as Kabuto gave him a once over, considering his prospects. If Neji had to be whipped, mangled, tortured in order to keep her safe from him, he would welcome it all.

Hinata flinched as she heard shuffling from behind her. The mercenaries stood up and dusted themselves off, eager for the go ahead.

Kabuto smiled in her direction before placing a hand on his chin.

Neji's breath hitched.

"Will you be good?" Kabuto's tone was condescending. It sliced at his pride, wounding him deeply. Neji gritted his teeth, begrudgingly nodding his head and allowing himself to be yanked up by his ponytail to face Hinata and the others. He went lax, as he knew he should. Any resistance, and it was over. This was how it had to be.

Kabuto leaned in, his lips gently tracing the contours of Neji's ear. They pressed softly against Neji's flesh as Kabuto whispered, "Good... I always thought we worked best when we were on the same page."

Neji visibly shivered, resisting every impulse to _destroy_.

"We're leaving," Kabuto told the others, throwing Neji to the floor. Neji was soon pulled up by his shoulders. The men that were hired stepped past Hinata, each of them taking one of Neji's arms.

"Oh, and please don't attempt to follow us," Kabuto said, throwing Hinata a backwards glance.

And Hinata didn't.

She didn't cry when Neji was dragged away.

She didn't scream.

She didn't beg.

She stood there, knowing with increased foreboding that if she attempted to go after them, Neji could be killed.

So she stared at her feet, counting the footfalls until they disappeared.

Then it was quiet.

* * *

 **02:24  
** **El Araba El Madfuna** **  
****العرابة المدفونة  
** **Two miles south-west of Abydos (** **أبيدوس)**

They did _not_ leave in ten minutes.

Naruto groaned, pressing his cheek against the back of his camel's elongated neck with a dejected sigh. Humphrey, who Naruto affectionately named for obvious reasons, huffed through his nose, snarling testily at the flies attempting a hostile takeover of his nostrils. Naruto patted him encouragingly on the head, exhausted, but urging him to fight on. His eyelids drooped half-mast, though each bump against his ass momentarily snapped him awake, careening his body in several different directions at once.

Gaara placed his hands on Naruto's hips in an attempt to keep him steady.

"If you must, you can use me to sleep until we get there," Gaara murmured, gently coaxing Naruto back so he lay against his chest. He wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist, securing him to ensure his safety. Naruto smiled in appreciation, even if Gaara couldn't see it, taking him up on his offer.

Nearly an hour passed after Tsunade's declaration before they were asked to board the aircraft, and naturally, Tsunade took her sweet time gearing up for the flight, causing them even more delays than they'd hoped. When Naruto begged her to get a move on, she only dragged things out. He had to watch her lazy ass check the navigation lights with receding interest, a pack of camels resting in the breast pocket of her survival vest—already on her fifth cigarette of the day.

He wanted to make it to Sohag in one piece, so he had to keep his comments to himself about her sixth. It was punishment.

He should have expected some sort of payback for the snake incident. Just imagine the relief when they finally ascended into the air. Naruto got zero shut eye then. Using the flight as an opportunity to sleep proved pointless and uncomfortable. So uncomfortable. Because Sasuke hadn't said a word to him since they left Kiba's, and even now as they rode away from Sohag to Abydos, the bastard offered nothing but a few glances in his direction. At this rate, working together was going to be a real pain in the ass.

For a moment, Naruto envied Humphrey with the bugs crawling up his nose. His problems were simple. He didn't have to worry about a kidnapped brother or an ancient curse. He just had to worry about Saliva.

Naruto threw Sasuke's camel a backwards glance.

The dirty look he received eerily mirrored Kurama's.

He'd already given Sasuke's _thing_ a name: Saliva. The animal had been drooling the entire trek to Abydos with a string of fluids—and other unmentionables—hanging from the side of its large, down-turned lips. Snot occasionally would join the mix, flying into the air and coating Humphrey's ass in gross, gelatinous fluids. Maybe that's how camel's greeted each other. Or maybe Saliva was interested in Humphrey, and this was some bizarre mating ritual where drool was a euphemism for humping it out in the sand later.

Whatever the hell it meant, it was gross.

Naruto squinted his eyes.

They weren't far from Abydos, after catching a ride from Sohag to El Eraba they were now only just ten minutes away. Naruto could already see the facade of the temple Seti in the distance, its twelve limestone columns harmonizing alongside the night sky. The stars were out tonight, bright, beautiful, and tempting Naruto to lean back and chart the constellations above.

So he did.

Naruto smiled. He lifted his hand and pointed upward, wordlessly tracing patterns as they moved.

Gaara furrowed his brows at the display and mimicked the motion, curious.

"Are you trying to cast a spell?" Gaara asked. He sounded so serious Naruto had to throw his head back and laugh.

"What? No!" Naruto snorted, reaching behind him to take Gaara's hand. "They're constellations, see? That's Polaris, it's the brightest star in the Ursa Major, the north star. Then if you trace down like this," Naruto brought Gaara's hand down _,_ "and follow it here, it kind of looks like a ladle, right? We call that the little dipper. Next to it—yeah, right there! We call that the big dipper. And over here we've got Sirius, to the south east. You see it?"

Sasuke darkly watched the two of them. He wondered why he suddenly felt _annoyed._

"That isn't Sirius, Naruto, that is the Osiris," Gaara pointed out, matter-o-factly. The redhead gestured high in the northern sky, "and that is Hapi, god of the Nile river."

"I guess it's all basically the same thing," Naruto shrugged. "But yup, you're right, that's Hapi. I guess we're in for some good fortune, huh?"

"I do hope so…." Gaara murmured, absently. "We are in need of it."

It grew quiet again.

Their bodies rocked solely to the tune of Humphrey's set rhythm, and Naruto stared ahead, letting the meaning of those words sink in. They were really in some deep shit, weren't they? Would they really be okay like this? With only the three of them? Naruto hated it, but he had his doubts.

"That woman..." Gaara began again, his low, gravelly voice tactfully easing into something he clearly was troubled with, "...was she really a friend?"

Naruto blinked.

"Tsunade?"

Gaara nodded against him, his breath tickling the nape of Naruto's neck as he uttered, "I don't remember her."

"Oh. Then I guess that means she might not have existed… in the past, huh?" Naruto frowned. That was difficult for him to picture. "Well, uh, yeah.." he continued on, ignoring the questions racing through his head. "I've known granny since forever because my mom was her best friend. It's kind of weird. She'd been mom's anthropology professor."

"Anthropology?"

"It's the study of human societies and cultures. That stuff."

"And your father?"

Naruto's heart swelled, "A digger, like me. He helped uncover a lot of important artifacts before he…they..." he trailed off, the smile on his face fading. A familiar ache, grief, settled on his features in a tense, lopsided simper.

Sasuke listened. Noticed. His gaze lingered on Naruto's, watching a flash of something dark and painful etch onto his features—the misery of loss. It was gone before he could properly dissect it, replaced with a large, overcompensated smile. Sasuke watched on, growing agitated at the pointless display. _Your mask isn't fooling anyone,_ Sasuke wanted to tell him. He could still see the cracks. He could easily distinguish Naruto's earnestness from foolish, upbeat pretenses. And it irritated him.

"Ah… anyways... granny taught her in school," Naruto inhaled shakily, collecting himself, "and her and mom hit it off so well that after she graduated, granny started coming around the house more. She pretty much became a part of the family after that, changing my diapers when my parents were away, feeding me carrot mush, stuff like that. Haha..."

Self-consciously, Naruto tried to stiffen his shoulders to stop their trembling. Whether it was from the chill of the desert at night or simply talking about his parents, Naruto's teeth unwelcomely clacked together between pauses, threatening to chip away at them. If Gaara noticed his hesitation, his unease, he didn't comment on it. Instead, the other man glanced at the scarf around the archaeologist's neck and grabbed one of the ends of the material, wrapping it around the blonde a third time.

Naruto's cheeks warmed at the gesture, the turbulence in his heart momentarily stilled.

Sasuke looked away.

"Is it not warm enough for you?"

"No way," Naruto smiled gratefully, shaking his head, "it's perfect. Seriously, Gaara, thanks for letting me use it. I haven't had a chance to go back home and grab anything since this whole mess with Sasuke started. So you've really saved me."

In more ways than one.

Speaking of Sasuke, Naruto was still wracking his brain for ways to break the ice.

Naruto tried to remain inconspicuous as he peered over his shoulder. Sasuke's own scarf did nothing to hide the brooding look on his face. The bastard was sporting all black, sitting on Saliva with his shoulders hunched, almost anticipatory. A slim-fit, crew neck T-shirt—courtesy of Tsunade—clung to pale muscles that stretched whenever Sasuke leered forward, contemplatively observing the Great Temple of Osiris in the distance.  
Sasuke brushed inky strands of hair behind his ear, and Naruto's breath hitched.

He didn't miss the way his pulse spiked, Sasuke's finger-less gloves only further accentuating the slenderness of capable fingers. _And fuck,_ it really wasn't hard to fantasize how those digits would dig into his hips. Rake up his back. Press into the cleft of his ass and knead the flesh until he was _writhing_. Just as it wasn't hard to imagine Sasuke's thumb, gently caressing his bottom lip, dragging it down, down, _down_ in an almost passive, yet tormenting attempt to send his heart into overdrive.

Naruto unconsciously swiped his tongue over his teeth, feeling that familiar, delicious heat in his lower half spread to his toes, just as it did before at Kiba's, and on the couch In his apartment.

When Sasuke _made out_ with him.

 _Oh, boy._ _  
_ _  
_He clicked his teeth, shaking his head. _Get a grip, seriously!_ He forced himself to face forward. What was he, thirteen? Man, they really needed to talk about this. _This_ being mainly the situation with Kabuto, obviously, but there were also a few pressing issues he needed to address, besides the matter of his dick pressing insistently against the fabric of his pants.

"We're here," Gaara announced.

Naruto had never been so relieved.

Humphrey kneeled down, granting them permission to slide off. Naruto did so rather gracelessly, tumbling onto the ground and scrambling up, muttering that he would go on ahead and set up camp.

He briskly walked to the temple, hoping to clear his head. Cool off. The sand crunched loudly beneath his shoes, doing nothing to quash the mental images in his head, driving him crazy. As much as he hated himself—dammit did he _suck—_ there was no denying it anymore. He was coming to grips with the fact that he was attracted to Sasuke, and the pull he felt lately was hard to ignore.

As much as Naruto tried—and he's tried _everything—_ Sasuke just wouldn't leave his mind. He couldn't get the asshole out of his head since the kiss, or the questions accompanying it. Questions that, to Naruto's growing irritation, relentlessly pounded Naruto's psyche with no clear answer in sight, making him relive the event over and over. Reminding him that each time Sasuke touched him, it felt good, warm, intimate.

Like _home._ _  
_ _  
_Naruto clammed up.

If he factored in the whole reincarnation issue, coupled with those deep, sensual kisses, he only came to one insane, completely unbelievable conclusion that he was _not_ willing to accept.

And he only knew one person who could confirm his suspicions.

"Naruto?" Gaara called. Naruto jolted from where he'd stood in front of the temple steps, frozen, and turned around to meet both him and Sasuke. Their intensified gazes stripped him bare. "Are you alright?"

Sasuke's dark irises never left his at the question, as if transfixed.

Coal orbs bore through sharp cobalt, not once breaking contact.

 _There's just no way, right?_ _  
_  
"Y-Ya…" Naruto sputtered. His face pathetically flushed. He was thankful, so thankful for the darkness as he moved on ahead, ears burning. Heart _pounding._

Sasuke mutely walked behind him, and Naruto swallowed. Hard.

"I'm fine. Let's go inside."

 _Shit._

This was going to be the longest night of his life.

* * *

 **C/N:**

Tjati* = vizier  
Niewtey* =citizen


End file.
